With college basketball coming up soon, many are speculating as to who are the contenders for the tournament, who will be the Cinderella team, and what will be the interesting new changes in college basketball. After many big name schools broke away from the Big East (Syracuse, Notre Dame, Louisville, and Pitt), many people have questions on how they will adapt to their new conferences.
Pitt is in the ACC now and will play against Duke, North Carolina, Miami, Syracuse, NC State, and Notre Dame, to name a few. After Pitt rebounded from a subpar season the year before, they came back last year and managed to get into March Madness where they were unfortunately bounced out in the first round to Final Four finalist Witchita State. With departures of big names Tray Woodall (graduation) and Steve Adams (NBA). It seems like Pitt will have a tough mountain to climb in the ACC.
In better news, Jamie Dixon did decide to stay in Pitt and got a contract extension, and Pitt also got Joseph Uchebo, a 6’10” sophomore, who will take out some of the sting of losing 7′ Steven Adams. As for losing star point guard Tray Woodall, Pitt has a knack for developing good point guards in their system. Examples would be Brandin Knight, LeVance Fields, and Tray Woodall. The next up on that list would be James Robinson, who came up with big three pointers last year, and now as a sophomore, he can prove to step up big and help a Pitt basketball program through this transition.
Returning players are always important in college sports, and the Pitt basketball team still has some good players returning. Players like the versatile offensive threat Lamar Patterson, hard nosed defender and undersized center Talib Zanna, and Cameron Wright, who will experience a lot more playing time. In college basketball, there always has to be a certain player to stand out and guide his team, and one of these players are primed to do that for Pitt.
Pitt’s game planning will help them out in the ACC as well. Pitt is a basketball team that relies on hard working players, tough rebounding, and a strong defense. This will help them against offensive powerhouses in the ACC. When you have that formula for a basketball team, you can compete annually for a title. Jamie Dixon as your head coach does not hurt either, and having been one of the best Big East coaches, he can also become one of the best ACC coaches.
Pitt has a tough mountain to climb, but they seem up for the task. ACC, here come the new kids on the block.