Pitt Panther Prowl

End of Hoops Season Thoughts

This is the worst kind of post to have to write. 64 of 65 teams end their season with their bloggers writing these kind of posts, so I know I am not alone. But it sucks to have to say goodbye to a season.

There have been a lot of people from other teams posting on Pitt sites trying to get a reaction and rub in the loss. That’s fine. It comes with the territory. If Pitt won, there would be Pitt fans posting on other schools’ sites and rubbing it in. That is all part of the competitive nature of sports and rooting for your team.

Despite being out of the tourney and WVU still being in, I am happy for WVU. Someone needs to keep the good name of the Big East alive, especially with UConn losing in the first round and Georgetown taking a loss from Davidson. I hope that WVU, Louisville, and Villanova can make the rest of us proud as now there is nothing for us Pitt fans to do except root for Big East pride.

As for the Pitt basketball season, it was certainly one to remember. Coming into the season, Pitt was being called an NIT team. By the time they played Duke, they looked like a final four team. By the time the Duke game was over, with Mike Cook getting injured, they went from looking like a final four team to maybe a sweet 16 team. One game later Levance Fields went down against Dayton and they looked like they would be an NIT team again. But this team held its own for a while. With no point guard and 4 freshmen in the rotation, they managed to beat Georgetown in a game where the Hoyas never threatened to take a lead.

Once the Panthers had convinced us they could still be a sweet 16 team even without two team leaders, they hit the tough part of their schedule and the sky looked like it was falling. But Fields came back and, once healthy, led this team to its second Big East Tournament Championship. It was truly sweet. And of course that led to some high expectations for the NCAA Tournament. But the tourney is all about match-ups. WVU drew Duke in the second round, but they actually match up well with Duke. Pitt drew Michigan St. in the second round and that was a big concern because of how the teams styles match up. Of course, sometimes it is about who gets up for the game because UConn and Georgetown should have won their games.

In the end, an exciting if turbulent season ended with a tough loss to Michigan St. The players gave everything they had to this season and to their fans. Ronald Ramon did an amazing job as he unselfishly moved to point guard while Fields was out. Keith Benjamin did an admirable job as a starter, showing that he was an important member of this Pitt team. Sam Young elevated his game beyond what any of us expected. DeJuan Blair had his best games against the best teams and at times looked like a man amongst boys. Gilbert Brown showed a lot of heart and growth and gives us a lot to be excited about next year. Tyrell Biggs did a good job spelling the big men and played solid D late in the season. Gary McGhee showed a level of growth throughout the season that shows that he can develop into a solid player. And of course Levance Fields and Mike Cook gave it all on the court, even sacrificing their bodies for their love of the game.

Thank you to all of the players. Thank you Jamie Dixon. I hope you are our coach for many years to come.

As other bloggers have said, the hardest part about the end of the season is that the posts won’t be anywhere near as frequent in the off season. Pitt Panther Prowl will still be here. We will do our best to get everyone ready for football. Hats off to the Panthers for a great basketball season.