August 13, 2009

Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Basketball Staff Writer

Pittsburgh has spent the past decade establishing itself as the Big East's most consistent program ? the type of team that continues to thrive amid roster turnover.

The 2009-10 season represents the biggest challenge to that reputation.

After earning the first No. 1 ranking in school history and reaching the East Region final last season, the Panthers must replace four starters, including All-America selections DeJuan Blair and Sam Young. The team that came achingly close to the Final Four last season could find its string of eight consecutive NCAA tournament bids in serious jeopardy next March.

"Whenever you lose two draft picks to the NBA, you're going to have some doubters," sophomore point guard Ashton Gibbs acknowledged. "We lost four seniors ? four starters. It's going to be tough.

"We know a lot of people think we're going to have a down year this year, but all of us in that locker room, we're confident in our abilities. We're going to work our hardest and try our best."

Pitt's chances of getting back to the tournament could depend in large part on how Gibbs handles his expanded role.

While Young played as well as any small forward in the game and Blair led the nation in offensive rebounding last season, comparably unheralded point guard Levance Fields could prove equally difficult to replace. Fields ranked second in the nation and led all major conference players with a sparkling 3.8-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Gibbs heads into his sophomore season as the most likely candidate to take over Fields' role.

"His assist-turnover ratio was phenomenal," Gibbs said. "That's what makes a great point guard."

While it's too early to tell whether Gibbs can match the accomplishments of his predecessor, the early returns are promising. Gibbs spent the summer doing a solid Fields impression while leading the U.S. Under-19 team to a gold medal in the FIBA World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.

Gibbs, who never had left the United States before this summer, played the most minutes of anyone on the U.S. team. He averaged 9.8 points and had 20 assists and six turnovers in nine games. The tournament represented the ideal preparation for Gibbs' upcoming role because Pitt coach Jamie Dixon also was the coach of the U.S. team.

"I think I'm more prepared," Gibbs said. "Just playing for him and being with the U.S. team, it definitely gave me a chance to continue working in the system and to know what to expect this season."

Gibbs even gave his U.S. teammates pointers on what they could expect from Dixon.

"He's a defensive-minded coach," Gibbs said. "I told everybody, 'If you want to play, you ? have to play defense and you have to rebound."

Gibbs needed that kind of experience. Although he led the Big East in 3-point field-goal percentage last season (43.9), Gibbs played just 10.7 minutes per game as a freshman on a senior-dominated team. Gibbs broke the 20-minute mark in just one game all season.

That figures to change this season.

The arrival of Centenary transfer Chase Adams ? a former Summit League defensive player of the year ? offers the Panthers some depth in the backcourt. Gibbs also could face competition from former AAU teammate Travon Woodall, a redshirt freshman who has known Gibbs since they were seventh-graders.

But the job likely will go to Gibbs at the start of the season, particularly after he performed so well in New Zealand. Gibbs believes he learned quite a bit last season from watching Fields help the Panthers make their deepest NCAA tournament run in 35 years.

"We're similar in our leadership abilities," Gibbs said. "He's very vocal. He communicates well with his teammates. I try to do that with my teammates as well. The difference is that he's definitely a true point guard. I think I can be a true point guard as well, but sometimes I look to score more. This year, whatever the defense gives, I'm going to take."

Gibbs went to Pitt despite going to high school at Seton Hall (N.J.) Prep, located less than 10 minutes from Seton Hall's campus. Gibbs said he wanted to get away from home while still being close enough that his family could see him play.

Never did he realize that leaving home eventually would take him half a world away with a chance to represent his country. Now he hopes that summertime detour helps him send Pittsburgh to a ninth consecutive NCAA bid.

"We have a lot of talented players coming back," Gibbs said. "We're the same guys who played against the first team in practice every single day and competed really hard against them. We know if we can play against those guys, we can play against everybody."

What's next for Pitino?

Louisville might have caught up with USC for the dubious honor of which program has endured the worst offseason.

The Cardinals already had lost its top 2010 commitment when Jeremy Tyler decided to leave high school to pursue a pro career overseas. They also had to watch in-state rival Kentucky hire John Calipari and sign the nation's top recruiting class.

But this wasn't the way the Cardinals wanted to steal the headlines away from their archrivals.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported this week that Cardinals coach Rick Pitino admitted to police that he had consensual sex with and paid $3,000 for an abortion for a woman now charged with trying to extort $10 million from him. Pitino's lawyer, Steven Pence, has indicated Pitino believed the $3,000 would be spent on insurance rather than an abortion.

Louisville officials have stood behind Pitino in the wake of the report, though university president James Ramsey has acknowledged being surprised at some of the most recent developments in the case. Pitino indicated in a Wednesday news conference that he has no plans to step down.

"For as long as they'll have me, I'm going to coach here," Pitino said after offering a public apology to his family and everyone associated with the Louisville program.

The good news for Louisville is that this news came out now rather than during the season, when it would have caused even more of a distraction.

The timing of this announcement may limit the effect it has on Louisville's fortunes this season, but it could have plenty of fallout for Pitino himself.

Does this cause Pitino, who turns 57 next month, to retire earlier than expected? Does this drop his stock enough that it assures the well-traveled Pitino makes Louisville his last coaching stop? Pitino also is a popular motivational speaker and best-selling author of books on success. Who will want to read his books or schedule him for speaking engagements after this revelation?

And while this news might not impact Louisville's 2009-10 fortunes, it could hurt the Cardinals quite a bit in the long run if it hinders Pitino's ability to recruit. Tyler's decision to go overseas leaves 6-6 power forward Josh Langford ? a three-star prospect from Huntsville, Ala. ? as the Cardinals' only 2010 commitment.

'Operation Hardwood' lineup set

Army's Jim Crews, Dayton's Brian Gregory and Longwood's Mike Gillian are scheduled to head overseas next week for "Operation Hardwood VI," a tour of Middle East bases that includes a basketball tournament featuring top military players.

The tour runs from Aug. 17-24 and features visits to Kuwait and stops at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

"Being invited to participate is a special opportunity and one that I didn't have to think twice about when asked to go," Gillian said. "Having grown up in a military family and having a dad who spent his career serving our country in the Army puts even greater meaning in this trip for me."

Other participants include ESPN analyst and former St. John's coach Fran Fraschilla, former Alabama coach Mark Gottfried, ESPN analyst and former UCLA coach Steve Lavin, former New York Knicks assistant general manager Jeff Nix and former Boston University coach Dennis Wolff.

Tip-ins

The NIT Season Tip-Off announced its 2009 field on Wednesday, and the 16-team event features six schools that made last season's NCAA tournament: Arizona State, Cal State Northridge, Connecticut, Duke, LSU and Western Kentucky. First-round matchups are Duke-Coastal Carolina and Charlotte-Elon in Durham, N.C.; Arizona State-Texas State and TCU-Northridge in Tempe, Ariz.; LSU-Indiana State and Milwaukee-Western Kentucky in Baton Rouge, La.; and Connecticut-Colgate and Hofstra-Yale in Storrs, Conn.

Arizona decided to hold a retirement ceremony for former coach Lute Olson during the summer instead of merely honoring him at halftime of a game. The plan paid off Saturday when 6,000 fans flocked to the McKale Center for an event that featured dozens of his former players. Olson offered his thanks Saturday and asked the fans to support new coach Sean Miller, who also was at the ceremony. "I want you as fans to understand one of the things that's really important is that you are patient," Olson said, according to an Arizona Daily Star report. "This is not as easy a job as you think it is. You may think it is [easy] because of the great players we've had come through the program, but it's not a case of you can just snap your fingers and show up."

Florida State left for Spain on Tuesday without its top returning player. A visa issue prevented 7-foot-1 center Solomon Alabi from making the trip, though FSU coach Leonard Hamilton is holding out hope that the situation can be cleared in time for Alabi to join his teammates in Spain. Florida State will play four games during the 11-day, Nike-funded trip.

One member of Georgia Tech's heralded recruiting class won't get a chance to make an impact this season. Kammeon Holsey, a 6-8 forward from Sparta, Ga., tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a summer-league game this month and will miss the season. Holsey, the No. 82 prospect in the nation, helped give Georgia Tech the nation's fourth-ranked recruiting class. Tech still looks to have a top-notch frontcourt, though.

Kansas State guard Jacob Pullen averaged a team-high 19.8 points to help the East Coast All-Stars post a 4-0-1 record in their tour of eastern Europe. Other Division I college players on the East Coast All-Stars roster included West Virginia guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant, Rutgers guard Corey Chandler, Rutgers forward Patrick Johnson, Cleveland State center Joe Latas, Kansas State guard Dominique Sutton and West Virginia forward Cam Thoroughman. Latas, a 6-11 sophomore, was the only player on the roster taller than 6-7.

Vanderbilt center A.J. Ogilvy is getting a chance to return to his home country before beginning the school year. Ogilvy, a 6-11 center from Sydney, has joined his teammates on a summer trip to Australia. The Commodores already have visited Ogilvy's old school ? the Australian Institute of Sport ? during their tour.

Steve Megargee is a national writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at smegargee@rivals.com.