2009-10 REVIEW
SEASON IN REVIEW Pitt finishes 25-9, advances to ninth straight NCAA Tournament as No. 3 seed, finishes in second place in the Big East for the second straight year Fantastic finishes. Stunning upsets. Dramatic come-from-behind victories. Breakout performances. Overcoming great odds. Improved players. All of these variables characterized the 200910 Pitt Basketball season. Picked to finish ninth by Big East coaches in the league’s annual preseason coaches’ poll and unranked upon entering the season, the national college basketball experts expected little from Pitt. It was certainly understandable considering the Panthers lost four starters, two NBA players and almost 75 percent of its production from an NCAA Elite Eight team. But the remaining Panthers went to work as Pitt surprised the college basketball nation with a 25-9 overall record, a second consecutive second place finish in the Big East Conference regular season (13-5), a ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a No. 3 seed upon entering the NCAA
WHERE PITT RANKED IN THE 2009-10 NCAA STATISTICS
116
Category Rank AVG Scoring Offense ............ 178 .. 68.7 Scoring Defense ............. 36 .. 61.8 Scoring Margin ................ 61 .... 6.9 Field Goal Pct. .............. 104 .. 44.7 FG Pct. Defense .............. 35 .. 40.0 Three-Point FG PG ........ 153 .. 34.4 Three-Point FG Pct. ........ 51 .. 31.4 Free Throw Pct. ............ 157 .. 69.3 Rebound Margin .............. 29 .... 5.0 Assists Per Game ............ 21 .. 15.8 Blocked Shots PG ........... 91 .... 4.1 Steals Per Game ........... 300 .... 5.2 Won-Loss Pct. ................. 34 .. 73.5 Turnovers Per Game ........ 70 .. 12.4 Personal Fouls PG ........... 86 .. 17.5
Tourney. In addition, Pitt proved to be the only team in the nation to defeat three top-5 nationally ranked teams during the season—No. 5 Syracuse, No. 5 West Virginia and No. 3 Villanova—and concluded the year with a spectacular 17-1 home record. It was the players who rose to the challenge. Lone senior starter Jermaine Dixon battled back from a preseason injury to average 10.6 ppg. and 4.0 rpg. and provide stellar perimeter defense. Dixon was named the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year by The Sporting News. Sophomore Ashton Gibbs moved into the starting point guard role and blossomed into the team’s clutch scorer. The 2010 Big East Most Improved Player and All-Big East Second Team selection, Gibbs led the squad in scoring (15.7 ppg.), hit 78 3point field goals and also set a school record for most consecutive free throws made with 46. Junior Brad Wanamaker emerged into the team’s top playmaker as he led the squad in assists (4.7 apg.) and contributed 12.3 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He also became one of only six players in school history to average more than 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists in a season. Junior Gary McGhee (6.9 ppg.) started all 34 games at center, led the Panthers in rebounding (6.8 rpg.) and blocked shots (59) and impressed on defense. Once again, Gilbert Brown’s athleticism was on display as the junior provided high scoring games and highlight-reel plays en route to averaging 10.7 ppg. Sophomore Nasir Robinson emerged into the starting power forward role and contributed all the key intangibles, along with 6.6 ppg.
Senior Mike Cook hoists the Big East Tournament championship trophy after the Panthers became just the second team in league history to win the tourney with four straight wins. Cook went down with a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 20 vs. Duke, but still remained a key part of the team. Cook applied for a sixth year of eligibility but was denied by the NCAA in August.
Jermaine Dixon concluded the year by earning Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors by The Sporting News.
2009-10 HONORS AND AWARDS ALL-AMERICA Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Jamie Dixon USA Basketball National Coach of the Year Jamie Dixon Coach of the Year Finalist Associated Press COY USBWA Henry Iba Award Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award Bob Cousy Award Finalist Ashton Gibbs ALL-REGION USWBA All-Region 2 Team Ashton Gibbs
2010-11 PITT BASKETBALL
ALL-CONFERENCE Big East Most Improved Player Ashton Gibbs All-Big East Second Team: Ashton Gibbs Sporting News All-Big East Defensive Player of the Year Jermaine Dixon Big East Statistical Champions Free Throw Percentage: Ashton Gibbs (88.4%) Big East Player of the Week Ashton Gibbs (Jan. 4) Big East Academic All-Stars Tim Frye, Ashton Gibbs, Nick Rivers, J.J. Richardson, Dante Taylor, Lamar Patterson
TEAM AWARDS Most Valuable Player: Brad Wanamaker, Ashton Gibbs Most Improved Player: Travon Woodall Best Defensive Player: Jermaine Dixon, Gary McGhee Captains Award: Jermaine Dixon, Brad Wanamaker Team Rebounding Leader: Gary McGhee (6.8 rpg) Free Throw Shooting Leader: Ashton Gibbs (88.4%) Most Inspirational Player: Nasir Robinson Coaches Award: Gilbert Brown, Chase Adams Academic Excellence Award: Dante Taylor Jaron Brown Pursuit of Excellence Award: J.J. Richardson
and 5.6 rpg. The team’s true point guard, redshirt freshman Travon Woodall showed dramatic improvement throughout the year and ranked second on the squad in assists. Freshman Dante Taylor showed flashes of his promise. Here are a few of the season’s most memorable moments and highlights: Pitt raised a banner to honor the 2009 NCAA Elite Eight accomplishment prior to its season opener on Nov. 13. Pitt battled back from a 17-point second half deficit to defeat Duquesne 67-58 in double overtime. The Dec. 2 game marked the final college basketball game played at Pittsburgh’s Mellon Arena. Pitt vaulted into the national rankings after winning its first five Big East regular season contests