Nov. 3, 2014

See page 8

Vol. 105 Issue 62

@thepittnews FOOTBALL

He really

Pittnews.com

Monday, November 3, 2014 STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Blewitt

BOARD BOOTS BARNEY

(OBVIOUS PUN)

About two weeks before Student Government Board elections, the Board dismissed its Elections Committee Chair.

Missed kick, shaky defense down Pitt in double OT

Cristina Holtzer & Harrison Kaminsky The Pitt News Staff

Chris Blewitt kicked a 25-yard field goal attempt wide left to send the game to overtime. Theo Schwarz | Visual Editor

Jasper Wilson Staff Writer Heading into its game against No. 24 Duke, the Pitt football team knew receiver Jamison Crowder would make a difference for the Blue Devils.

“Hopefully he didn’t get his flu shot and gets the flu on Friday or something,” Pitt’s secondary coach Troy Douglas said jokingly to media last Wednesday.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, the senior didn’t take ill, and he finished Saturday with more receiving yards (165) than the rest of his team combined (101), as well as two touchdowns. His massive day propelled to a Duke 51-48 double

overtime win.

“I just felt in the zone today,” Crowder said afterwards.

He did the most damage in the opening half, as both of his touchdowns and 149 of his yards came then, but the danger he posed throughout created opportunities for other aspects of the offense to succeed.

“Thats why they’re a good offense. If you commit too much to one or the other, be it the run game or the throw game, [or] one receiver, you have a tendency to be vulnerable to some other [areas],” head coach Paul Chryst said.

The first display of his ability

Football

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While the candidates are clamoring for seats on the Student Government Board, the Elections Committee Chair has lost hers in a way she deems unjust.

The SGB dismissed Elections Chair Lauren Barney from her position on Friday, stating concerns over her conduct. Barney will appeal the decision with the SGB Judicial Committee in an attempt to regain her position. Meanwhile, Kevin Tracey, who previously served as vice chair of the Elections Commit-

tee, will assume Barney’s role.

Board President Mike Nites informed Barney via email on Oct. 31 that the Board had dismissed her from her position as Elections Chair. Barney ran for Student Government Board in the previous two elections but lost and applied for the Elections Committee in 2014.

The Board appointed Barney as Elections Committee Chair in January.

“I was 100 percent blindsided,” Barney said.

Nites said, in addition to general improper conduct within meetings and hearings, Barney sometimes neglected to

“Chris Blewitt has been a reliable kicker during his #Pitt career.

I feel bad for the kid.” @cjregan99 “Never have been so mad after a pitt loss #Blewitt” @33_luke

follow Robert’s Rules of Order, the general procedure required for hearings and meetings by the SGB governing code.

One example of Robert’s Rules of Order would include motioning to the committee to vote, which Barney said she doesn’t always remember to do.

“We wanted to make sure that the integrity of the election is maintained. They could say things that weren’t followed in the rules,” Nites said. “To remove that possibility of that being brought up, we as a Board felt that we had to make the

SGB

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Your fill-in-the blanks...

“Hackenberg just couldn’t hack it on that last play?? Just had to do it after all the #Blewitt jokes earlier” @djFlem “Much has been made of Chris Blewitt’s missed FG to end regulation but don’t forget the 1st qtr when his snapper and holder “blew it”.. #Pitt” @P_Woo

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Experts urge students to vote for more than Presidents Kathy Zhao Staff Writer Pitt students who are registered to vote this election day, Nov. 4, may fill out an absentee ballot or will vote in person at their local polling place. If, that is, they can even be bothered to do so.

Ron Ruman, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of State, said the turnout of young voters usually remains low, except during presidential election years.

“It’s unfortunate that college students don’t really get involved unless it’s a national election,” Ruman said. “The issues they can vote on Nov. 4 are the ones that will affect them on a day-to-day and intimate level.”

Although 2014 is not a presidential election year, the results of this midterm election will affect Pitt students. They will determine the state’s governor, lieutenant governor and congressional representatives, as well as who will serve in

Harrisburg.

Democrat Tom Wolf is running against Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, who is running for a second term.

In Allegheny County, registered voters in the 18-to-24-year-old demographic make up only 8 percent of total registered voters —about 68,000 out of more than 880,000 — according to Pennsylvania Department of State Voter Registration Statistics as of Oct. 20. Undergraduate students are typically in this age demographic.

Undergraduates would want to have a say in certain issues: Pennsylvania’s liquor laws, minimum age to obtain a driver’s license and how often the streets are plowed, according to Ruman. He said if students want to voice their opinions or frustrations, they should vote for state and local government, not just the president.

Despite the low voter registration numbers among young people, political groups at Pitt are enthusiastic about the

upcoming election.

Ernest Rajakone said that Pitt College Democrats were involved even before voter registration applications were due on Oct. 6.

“We registered members at meetings,” said Rajakone, president of the organization and a senior political science major.

“We also had applications at the activities fair and participated in registration drives for [Democratic gubernatorial candidate] Tom Wolf ’s campaign. We tried to reach out to as many people on campus as possible.”

Rajakone said it’s important for student voices to be heard, especially since it’s common for young people to feel like they are powerless.

“I think there’s a lot of disillusion with the government, but we have the ability to speak up, and we need to exercise it,” he said. “Staying on top of politics isn’t the most exciting thing to do, but it is our civic duty.”

Rajakone agrees that the economy is

a hot topic this year and that students should take note.

“Jobs matter. We’ll all eventually be leaving this campus — some of us really soon. We’re going to need to enter the job force, and a good economy is something we need in order for that to be a possibility,” Rajakone said.

Cameron Linton, president of Pitt College Republicans, said voters should think less of their individual circumstances when voting for representation.

“I don’t think of politics in terms of what’s best for me or what’s best for Pitt students,” said Linton, a junior economics and political science major. “How about what’s best for everyone in Pennsylvania? If government is going to exist, it should be what’s in the best interest of everybody. Just because something may not be in your own best interest doesn’t mean it’s not in the best interest for others.”

Voters

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1

SGB

decision.”

The Board, besides members Graeme Meyer and Meghan Murphy, met with Barney and Tracey on Friday at its weekly planning meeting. Meyer and Murphy abstained from the meeting to avoid conflicts of interest because they will run for office next term.

“The Board, barring Meyer and Murphy, concluded that the sanctity of the election could have been compromised if Barney were to retain her post,” a SGB release from Sunday said.

Nites said a member of the Elections Committee, whom he refused to name, brought Barney’s conduct in Elections Committee meetings and hearings to his attention early last week.

Barney held an Elections Committee hearing in the SGB office on Oct. 29 to FROM PAGE 2

VOTERS He said that’s why his organization did not encourage student voter registration because, in his opinion, students would be more likely to vote against the interests of Pitt College Republicans.

“It would have been counterproductive to encourage people on campus to register,” he said. “Nine out of 10 students would probably vote Democrat rather than Republican.”

Linton says all the members in College Republicans, who are likely to vote Republican, are registered to vote, either in Allegheny County or by absentee ballot.

Antonio Diaz-Guy, the president of Pitt Students for Liberty, a libertarian group, said that being registered to vote and actually voting have two different meanings for the members of his organization.

“Voting is often a contentious topic among liberty-minded individuals,” said Diaz-Guy, a senior economics and philosophy major. “On the one hand, we have members that believe the best way to bring about change is to work within the current system and elect responsible candidates. On the other hand, some of our members see the current political process as fundamentally flawed.”

deliberate on an elections infraction filed on Oct. 27 by Wasi Mohamed, who is running for President next term, against Meyer and his affiliated slate.

Nites said the meeting was very loud and could be heard throughout the office.

Barney said she held the Elections C o m m i t t e e ’s hearing regarding Mohamed’s complaint against Meyer on Oct. 29 in the SGB conference room because of a scheduling conflict with rooms. Barney said the Election Committee nor-

“It was like a witch hunt. All the questions were super leading.”

Lauren Barney

3 mally holds hearings outside the SGB office.

“It was the biggest mistake I could have made,” Barney said.

Barney said the Elections Committee deliberated from 12:04 a.m. to 1:34 a.m. and voted on the infraction.

“We didn’t just decide last minute. It was taken seriously,” Barney said.

Nites said he wouldn’t comment on whether he thought the Election Com-

SGB

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SGB

mittee members were acting inappropriately during their deliberation, but that they were speaking loudly.

“During our Board planning sessions, people can’t hear us speaking,” Nites said. “If there is order in the room, and people aren’t shouting at each other, you can’t really hear outside the conference room.”

Barney said Nites pulled her aside after the Elections Committee’s meeting and told her he could hear things during its meeting. At this time, Barney said, Nites questioned her procedure.

Barney said the infraction accused Meyer and his affiliated 87s slate, which includes Murphy, current Allocations Chair Nasreen Harun and Everett Green, a sophomore majoring in finance, of breaking the elections code with “paper campaigning,” or the distribution of flyers or posters to voters. The code forbids paper campaigning until five days before the election, which is on Nov. 11.

November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com Meyer and Nites both refused to comment on the infraction filed by Mohamed, stating that it’s not yet public information until after both the Elections Committee and Judicial Committee put it to a vote. Although Barney said

Oct. 27 Mohamed files an infraction against Meyer and the 87’s slate

sion on Oct. 30.

Elections infractions remain private, Nites said, to prohibit candidates from slinging unfounded accusations at one another in the middle of an elections season.

Oct. 31

Oct. 29 Barney holds hearing to deliberate Mohamed’s infraction

Oct. 28 Meyer files an infraction against Elections Committee she could not provide the status of the Elections Committee hearing regarding the infraction filed by Mohamed because it’s private information, she said Meyer filed an appeal of the deci-

Judicial Committee warrants Meyer's infraction

SGB impeaches Barney, appoints Tracey as Elections Committee Chair

Oct. 30 Meyer appeals Elections Committee’s decision over Mohamed’s infraction Barney said she advised Mohamed that if he believed candidates were breaking the elections code, then he could theoretically file several infractions against the slate. For example, if a

slate passed out 10 papers, Barney told Mohamed he could file 10 infractions.

Meyer filed an infraction against the Elections Committee to the Judicial Committee on Oct. 28, stating bias within the Elections Committee based on the email Barney sent to Mohamed advising him that he could file multiple infractions against one slate.

The Judicial Committee met on Oct. 29 and determined that Meyer’s case against the Elections Committee warranted a hearing.

Nites said he invited Barney to the Board’s weekly planning meeting on Oct. 31 at 3 p.m. to discuss her conduct and have an “open discussion” about her position. He said the Board did not go into the meeting with the intent to dismiss her.

Barney said while she expected an open discussion, she didn’t get one.

“I wanted to open the lines of communication,” Barney said. “I thought, ‘Oh, this is the Board I was working with for a year. They’re going to help me so

SGB

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 1

FOOTBALL came on the visitors’ first drive of the game.

After moving into Pitt territory, Blue Devils quarterback Anthony Boone lofted a deep throw down the right sideline. With Panthers freshman cornerback Avonte Maddox containing him step for step, Crowder created separation at the last second by pushing off with his arm before corralling the pass for a 39-yard score.

While some thought the move warranted an offensive pass interference call rather than the defensive infraction given to MadFROM PAGE 4

SGB

we can work this all out.’”

At the meeting, Barney said the first question Nites asked her was whether the meeting could be recorded — something that would be unusual at a casual weekly planning meeting.

The Board questioned Barney at the

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dox, Crowder’s skill was evident nonetheless.

That play set the tone for his matchup with the Panther secondary for the rest of the first half. While the battle continued, Crowder was in control.

A sequence similar to that first touchdown played out in the second quarter when Crowder again took to the outside from his spot to the right of the line of scrimmage and ran straight ahead. Maddox again stayed with his mark until the ball arrived just before the goal line, just enough of a gap for the receiver to possess the ball before tumbling into the end zone untouched: a 45-yard completion.

“At the time the ball was caught, he’s right in his hip pocket,” Ray Vinopal said of Mad-

dox’s play on both touchdowns. “That’s just a kid making a play.”

Crowder nearly found the end zone for a third time with the clock running down at the end of second quarter. With redshirt junior corner Lafayette Pitts opposing him, Crowder took that familiar route, this time stopping and starting his run in an unsuccessful effort to lose Pitts.

Crowder neared the end zone, sandwiched between the sideline and Pitts, and Boone had little room for error with his attempt.

The two connected once again, and Crowder got a foot in bounds at the oneyard line for a 27-yard gain with less than

10 seconds left.

The Blue Devils scored on their next play, tying the game at 28, after the extra point to go into halftime with momentum and the knowledge that they’d get the ball back to start the third quarter.

Vinopal didn’t think the Devils’ success through the air, specifically with Crowder, came as a result of something he and the rest of the defensive backs did wrong.

“I don’t know how to respond to anyone who thinks that we were in bad position on 21 of those points that were scored,” Vinopal said. “They made plays. They’ve got a good receiver. Our guys were in good position.

Simple as that, they made the play.”

meeting and, at times, asked Tracey to corroborate Barney’s answers regarding whether Barney followed proper procedure during meetings and hearings, Tracey said. He declined to comment on what types of questions the Board asked him or how he answered.

“It was like a witch hunt,” Barney said. “All the questions were super leading. Before they came in, it felt like they already decided I hadn’t followed pro-

cedure. I was being grilled in an interrogation room.”

Nites said the Board does not conduct a formal hearing to remove someone.

“We held a discussion with Lauren to learn more about the situation and then made a decision,” Nites said. “This follows the exact procedure outlined in the Constitution.”

Judicial Committee Chair Audrey

Winn said the Judicial Committee hasn’t yet determined when Barney’s appeal hearing will take place, but that she is aiming to schedule it this week. Winn said the hearing will be public and the deliberations private.

“In the appeals process, the decision isn’t final until the appeal,” Winn said of Barney’s dismissal. “Then [The Board] can’t dismiss her, and they can’t appeal again.”

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

EDITORIAL

OPINIONS

Politics undermines responsibility of science education centers Sometimes it takes politics a long time to accept the science behind issues (e.g. the evolution debate). But what happens when science accepts the politics?

There comes a point when issues become so politicized that it’s impossible to mention them without stirring passions, thus, many prefer not to mention them at all. Apparently, this is the route many museums across the nation have taken regarding the issue of climate change.

According to The Pittsburgh PostGazette, U.S. science education facilities — including the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh — are not presenting or discussing anything regarding climate change. In fact, only about half of U.S. science facilities have openly addressed the issue.

But, science centers aren’t glossing over climate change because they believe it’s not happening. Rather, the politicization of the issue has forced it out of the dis-

cussion on climate change, mainly because funding for science centers depends primarily on private sources. Many of these private sources have political associations that may disagree with the concept of climate change.

“In the scientific community, there isn’t a lot of debate about climate change,” Jason Brown, the Carnegie Science Center’s director of science and education, told the Post-Gazette.

But, when it comes to displaying climate change through their exhibits, “The politicization of the issue is one of the biggest challenges,” Brown said.

As a result, many science education centers, like the Carnegie Science Center, omit climate change from their exhibits, which is a dangerous trend.

Why? Because it’s like omitting Kevin Bacon from a discussion on the movie “Footloose” — it’s an essential truth that Kevin Bacon stars in this film.

Just like it is true that Kevin Bacon is in “Footloose,” so is it true that climate change is present in nature. This is a silly example, but so is ignoring that climate change is a natural phenomenon.

According to a recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “warming impacts are already being seen around the globe, in the acidification of the oceans, the melting of arctic ice and poorer crop yields in many parts.”

The report mainly focuses on how the global community can address climate change — because to the panel, it is not a matter of whether or not it is happening.

Rather, it is a matter of how we must deal with this very real threat.

“Science has spoken,” U.N. SecretaryGeneral Ban Ki-moon said of the IPCC report. “There is no ambiguity in their message. Leaders must act. Time is not on our side.”

Scientific education centers should

discuss climate change through their exhibits, just as they would with any other scientific reality. A museum that doesn’t acknowledge climate change and its negative effects inhibits visitors’ understanding of an environmental crisis — leading to confusion and denial. After all, one could not explain the extinction of the dinosaurs without mentioning the asteroid.

We understand that science centers are concerned about funding. Yet, there is one way for science centers to get around the politics: display climate change as a phenomenon affecting the world.

Whether one thinks human actions caused climate change, or that it’s just a natural cycle, one cannot, in the face of a mountain of evidence, accurately state that climate change is not happening.

Science education centers that don’t mention climate change ignore reality — something, one would think, science centers would be the last entity to do.

COLUMN

An appeal for volunteerism: If not for others, do it for you Bethel Habte Columnist

Telling people that they should volunteer is like telling them that they should donate a kidney. Both sentiments invoke an unnecessary moral burden.

Don’t worry, I won’t tell you that you should volunteer. Rather, I’ll tell you how volunteering can actually benefit you.

Let’s be honest, we’re all guilty of getting caught up in our own world.

For a college student, that world is easily dominated by classwork, friends, significant others, personal crises, etc.

But volunteer work can take you out of your own world and bring you closer to that of others outside of your personal and professional circles. It opens

you up to different perspectives and experiences.

I’m an aspiring doctor, and the perspectives I have gained from volunteering will affect the way I take on that role in the future. To a large extent, volunteering will make me significantly more sensitive and aware of my patient’s needs.

Currently, I volunteer at the Children’s Hospital of UPMC and Family House. Both venues are medically oriented, and I interact regularly with people who are experiencing severe illnesses.

I have never been severely ill, so I can’t claim to understand what the feeling must be like. But, through volunteering, I have come to understand challenges pertaining to both illness

and the medical process itself that I had never previously considered.

For example, volunteering at Family House — a nonprofit organization that provides affordable patient and familyoriented housing to patients traveling to Pittsburgh for medical care — has given me a glimpse of the wearying effects that medical treatment has on the lives of patients and their families.

Factors such as schedule changes and treatment alterations have drastic effects on patients’ lives, perhaps to a greater degree than those in the medical setting can foresee when they make sometimes arbitrary changes to a patient’s treatment. Volunteering has given me a special insight into the effects of these factors.

At Pitt, there are a number of stu-

dents entering the medical field. But, regardless of what field you hope to enter, experience with a wide breadth of perspectives can only help you relate to the different types of individuals you will inevitably meet.

I’ve interacted with the young and old, the poor and rich, the northern and southern and a variety of different races through volunteering. Regardless of apparent differences, there are always similarities that spark a connection.

Now, I am aware of how insignificant trivial differences truly are, and I am more open when it comes to making connections.

Sometimes, we lose perspective of why we do what we do, why we’re here

Habte

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com are not limited to his or her resumé.

This exposure can also drastically affect

FROM PAGE 6

HABTE in college and why we’ve chosen to enter the fields that we have. For most of us, that correlates with a passion for working with people and developing skills that can be meaningful in the lives of others. Volunteering reminds you of that purpose.

The benefits one gains from exposure to different lives through volunteering

THE PITT NEWS Natalie Daher Editor-in-Chief editor@pittnews.com

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of your own world. The worlds we create for ourselves can be fun and exciting,

“When I volunteer, it’s as if I’ve paused my life for a moment, and, in that moment, nothing else matters but the people I am serving.” your personal life.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of volunteering is the way that it takes you out

E S T A B L I S HE D 1 9 1 0

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but they can just as easily be stressful and anxiety-inducing — hello midterms! I don’t know about you, but there

Editorial Policies Single copies of The Pitt News are free and available at newsstands around campus. Additional copies can be purchased with permission of the editor in chief for $.50 each.

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T P N Today’s difficulty level: Very Hard S U D Puzzles by Dailysudoku.com O K U

are only so many chemical structures a person can look at before going insane.

When I volunteer, it’s as if I’ve paused my life for a moment, and, in that moment, nothing else matters but the people I am serving. There’s nothing more rewarding than knowing that I could make an impact in someone else’s life, regardless of how small the impact may be.

That alone makes the entire process worth it.

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

Brother and sister share relationship with Pitt basketball Jasper Wilson Senior Staff Writer Talk to siblings Jason and Lindsay Richards, and they’ll describe their relationship over the years as close.

For the last year and a half, that adjective has described the proximity of their workplaces, too.

Sitting inside the Petersen Events Center recently, Lindsay put the distance in perspective with the point of a finger. The offices of the Pitt men’s basketball team — where Jason works as director of analytics and video coordinator — look out over the court from above section 112, while the women’s team — of which Lindsay is an assistant coach — is based nearby atop section 116.

It’s a distance that they estimate amounts to about 50 feet of separation, or a 10-second

walk.

“Literally right down the hall,” Lindsay said.

The setup is a tangible reminder of a serendipitous continuation of one family’s history with the University and the sport.

Tom Richards, Jason and Lindsay’s father, grew up in nearby Moon Township and went to Pitt, where he played point guard for the Panthers from 1972-76. He helped the team reach the Elite Eight for the first time in school history during his sophomore year.

Mary Beth Richards, Tom’s wife and Jason and Lindsay’s mother, grew up in Murrysville and also attended Pitt, playing basketball in the first year of the women’s program in 1974-1975.

Tom described basketball as “part of our family DNA.” Jason and Lindsay remember watching basketball at Fitzgerald Field House from their time here as children.

“It was such a great atmosphere, and, knowing that’s where my father played, and as a little kid idolizing your father and wanting to do what he did at that level some day and being a part of Pitt basketball where he had played and had made a name for himself and the University, that was by far something I’ll always remember,” Lindsay said.

Jason recalled attending a Midnight Madness event at the Field House one year when the ‘74 team was honored at halftime.

Tom and Mary Beth have pictures of their children with Pitt players such as Jerry McCullough and Eric Mobley, who would come to Upper St. Clair as part of Little Panthers, a program the Richards’ parents created to teach local children how to play basketball.

The Richards family lived in Pittsburgh from 1991 until early 1996 when Tom got a job in Chicago.

“When we left Pittsburgh, I never thought I’d be living here again, to be honest,” Jason said.

But circumstances would bring both Jason and Lindsay back.

Working as a senior account executive at a public relations firm in Chicago for three years, after graduating from Iowa in 2006, Lindsay was happy, but she felt a void.

“Basketball has always been such a big part of our lives, and, when you love something as much as we love the game, I think it not being in my everyday life, I knew something was missing,” Lindsay said.

After lengthy consideration, she decided to try to become a coach.

“Once I made the decision that this was something I really wanted to go after and do,

Richards

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

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Panthers face injuries, lack of depth entering season Logan Hitchcock For The Pitt News It was nearly eight months ago when the Pitt women’s basketball team played its last game, a 72-58 loss to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the ACC tournament.

Much has changed within the team since the final buzzer that day, and now the Panthers are preparing for a challenging yet exciting season under second-year head coach Suzie McConnell-Serio.

In her first year as head coach, McConnell-Serio led the Panthers to an 11-20 overall record last season while picking up three conference wins in the team’s inaugural season in the ACC. The three conference wins last season were three more than the Panthers’ final season in the Big East, when they finished 0-16 in conference play.

This year, the team will follow the leadership of senior point guard Brianna Kie-

sel and the strength McManus, one of a recruiting class of the few return— ranked 18th by ing players on the espnW’s HoopGurlz team, will provide Recruiting Rankings leadership both on — featuring Aysia and off the court for Bugg, Stasha Carey the incoming freshand Yacine Diop to men who will have compete in the ACC. to contribute to the “Obviously, our team more than they expectations are might have thought. higher than every“We’re really tryone else’s,” McConing to get through to nell-Serio said. “We them that age is just were picked to finish a number,” she said. last [in the confer“If you put the work ence], there is only in and you come to one way you can go practice and work when you’re talking Senior Brianna Kiesel is introduced at hard, it doesn’t matabout expectations.” Spike and Slam Madness Heather Tennant | ter how old or young “We’re ready,” Staff Photographer you are. You can resaid senior center ally compete at this Cora McManus. level as long as you put the work in.”

Kiesel can attest to the payoffs of working hard. She enjoyed the finest season of her career under McConnell-Serio last year, finishing 14th in the ACC in scoring and 11th in assists.

“I’m comfortable and confident with what we have here. I think we can make some good runs,” Kiesel said. “We do have short numbers, but we are very tight. We are a family. I think we look good.”

While excitement and optimism surrounds the team and its players, the road ahead will not be all smooth travels, as inexperience and depth will be the biggest obstacles in the way of the Panthers increasing on their win total from last season.

The team returns only three upperclassmen, and one, Brittany Gordon, is sidelined because of an injury to begin the year. Joining Gordon courtside will be Marvadene “Bubbles” Anderson, a redshirt sophomore

Injuries

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com

TAKING CHARGE

Mike Young steps into a leadership role for Pitt Ryan Bertonaschi Senior Staff Writer

During the summer of 2013, the Pitt men’s basketball team faced a glaring hole at the center position after losing three key players.

Steven Adams went to the NBA, reserve center Dante Taylor graduated and third-stringer Malcolm Gilbert transferred to Fairfield.

But head coach Jamie Dixon didn’t fret.

He used an internal option and converted then-power forward Talib Zanna, who started for Dixon as a junior in 2012-13, to a center for the upcoming season.

The decision was unpopular at first. Many pundits told Dixon that Zanna couldn’t do it.

But Zanna ended up finishing the season as the ACC’s co-leader in rebounding, and the 6-foot-9 Nigeria native was also named to the conference’s all-tournament team.

Zanna is now pursuing a career in the

NBA, and Dixon must find a new center.

Dixon has three pure centers on his current roster, but another power forward-to-center conversion is taking place. This time, it’s with sophomore Michael Young, who, last season, became the fourth Pitt basketball player to start as a freshman in a decade.

With Cameron Wright recovering from a broken left foot and Durand Johnson slowly progressing after tearing his ACL last season, Young started at power forward in Pitt’s first exhibition game on Oct. 31. After the game, Dixon classified his lineup as a work in progress. He will likely shuffle it when Wright and Johnson are back to form, but all signs point to Young starting at center.

Each November, Pitt fans arrive at the Petersen Events Center for the Panthers’ home opener unaware of the starting lineup Dixon will send to the floor for tipoff. But, since midsummer, Dixon has hinted that he will

include Young in the starting five.

At Pitt’s October media day, Dixon said Young brings an added dimension to the five that he hasn’t seen in 12 years as Pitt’s coach.

“He gives a little more versatility that we’ve never had,” Dixon said. “We never really had a guy with that skill who can play the five. But he was our best post defender last year, and so that’s encouraging to me that we’re not going to lose anything defensively if we play him at that spot.

“And I don’t know that [Young] has the same knack [as Zanna] for going after the basketball, but he’s going to create some challenges offensively for the defense,” Dixon added.

Young said his teammates call him “Mr. Do Everything.” He came to Pitt last year as a raw 6-foot-8, 245-pounder. Since athletes generally put on weight when they undergo moves to more contact-demanding positions,

Mike Young may play center this season. Jeff Ahearn | Assistant Visual Editor

one might find it hard to believe that while Young grew an inch and a half in the past year, he’s actually lost 15 pounds since the

Young

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11

ROAD TO RECOVERY

Durand Johnson back on court after major injury brother, Derrell Johnson, sign with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent from Eastern Carolina University, Durand became especially motivated.

“That just added fuel to the fire. I didn’t want to be the little brother that didn’t become successful,” Johnson said.

Before losing his sophomore basketball season to a torn ACL and meniscus in his right knee, Johnson was keeping up. He thrived as Pitt’s sixth man, averaging 8.8 points in 19.8 minutes per game.

As one of the most experienced players Durand Johnson is back on the court. and top scorers on the team, Johnson will Jeff Ahearn | Assistant Visual Editor play a major role in Pitt’s success this season.

Still, Johnson, a redshirt junior wing, Jeremy Tepper is coy about his importance, insisting he Staff Writer doesn’t feel any pressure to become a standAs the younger brother of a highly successful out scorer. athlete, Durand Johnson always felt pressure “Being the leading scorer, being the leadto keep up with his sibling. After seeing his ing guy, I’m not even thinking about that,”

Johnson said. “I just want to play, and, being a leader, I know my team will follow me.”

If Pitt is to continue to meet head coach Jamie Dixon’s high standards of winning, it will need Johnson to carry over his success from last season. To do that, he’ll need to continue his steady improvement, which has turned him from a 3--point specialist into a complete player, looking primed for a breakout.

“He definitely has the tools to be somebody that can take over a game and have nights where he explodes for 20-plus points regularly,” Jason Smith, Johnson’s prep head coach at Brewster Academy, said.

A Baltimore native, Johnson played his senior year at Lake Clifton High School before playing a post-graduate year at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H. Johnson was a stout perimeter defender and scorer. On most teams, Johnson would have taken on

a bigger role, but on a national prep powerhouse featuring other highly ranked prospects, he stepped back.

“When Durand was here, he filled a role for us, but he certainly could have had a bigger role. But with him, it was about team, the success and winning,” Smith said.

After helping lead Brewster to a 31-3 record, Johnson chose Pitt over schools like Florida State, Maryland, Louisville, Georgetown, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Marquette and Cincinnati.

College life showed him that the jump in skill level and physical requirements is immense from high school or prep to college.

Like many Pitt freshmen before him, Dixon gave Johnson a redshirt in his first season. He used that year to refine his skillset and add weight and muscle to his frame.

Johnson

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12 FROM PAGE 8

RICHARDS you kind of have to go hard,” Lindsay said.

The former McDonald’s All-American began reaching out to people she knew in the profession, including Suzie McConnell-Serio, about making the transition. Lindsay attended the current Pitt head coach’s basketball camps as a child. Richards then traveled to San Antonio for the Women’s Final Four in April 2010, scheduling meetings there with coaches. It was time to network.

Her persistence paid off. McConnell-Serio brought her on staff at Duquesne University in June 2010 as the director of basketball operations, before promoting her to assistant a FROM PAGE 10

YOUNG Panthers’ second-round NCAA Tournament exit in March.

Young was by no means overweight last year, but the Duquesne native claims he lacked the strength to support his towering frame.

November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com month later.

Little did she know that her younger brother by two years would be coming as well.

Jason’s path back to Pittsburgh was originally out of his control. Under contract with the Miami Heat after graduating from Davidson in 2008, he tore his ACL that September before the season began. He’d tear it twice more, most recently in his first game back from recovery while with the NBA’s Development League team Utah Flash in January 2010.

“It’s funny because, playing professionally when I was with the Heat, I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d become a coach, just because, at that point, you’re so focused on the present and where you want to go with your basketball career,” Jason said.

However, since Lindsay tore her ACL three

times in college, Jason had a sort of awareness about the finite nature of one’s time as an athlete.

“I knew there was always an end to a basketball career, so I had to think about what was next,” he said.

After the second injury, Jason still planned on playing, but coaching moved further onto his radar. When doctors told him he couldn’t play basketball after the third injury, he had to think about the next phase of his life.

After he ended his career in June 2010, Jason had to figure out what to do next.

He’d find out soon. After hearing about an available video coordinator position on the Pitt men’s team through word of mouth, Jason got in touch with Jamie Dixon. After a number of phone conversations, Jason joined the program

that summer as a graduate manager.

“I was lucky,” Jason said. “Everything fell into place.”

The second generation of Richards in Oakland came when McConnell-Serio brought most of her staff from Duquesne the short distance to Pitt following her hiring in April 2013.

“It was like everything came full circle,” Jason said.

“It was awesome. I was no longer the black sheep of the family,” Lindsay said, laughing.

Now the CEO of CDW LLC in Chicago — and a member of Pitt’s Board of Trustees since 2011 — Tom Richards reflected on the past four years with all these different elements coalescing.

“You couldn’t write this if you wanted to,” he said.

This, Young said, was a reason for why he partially fractured his back mid-season. “[It was an] over-time thing. It was kind of like a pipe busting due to pressure,” he said.

“It wasn’t due to the weight, but losing weight would have helped.”

Young started all 36 games for the Panthers last season despite the injuries. Dixon said he nearly started Jamel Artis over the

banged-up Young in Pitt’s March 1 game at Notre Dame, but Young battled through the discomfort. In 30 minutes of action that afternoon against the Irish, Young contributed 13 points and three rebounds in Pitt’s 85-81 overtime win.

Young used two of his fingers to describe the injury in detail, which the team quietly labeled as a “lower back injury” throughout

last winter.

“It wasn’t a clear fracture,” Young said.

“It was just a little bone in my lower back. If this were my bone, I fractured it like halfway through, so it didn’t completely fracture. If it would have completely fractured, they would’ve put a little screw in there. But, be-

Young

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November 3, 2014 | The Pitt News | www.pittnews.com FROM PAGE 12

YOUNG cause it didn’t completely fracture, they just let it heal on its own.”

While recovering from the injury, Young took many steps in improving his overall wellbeing. He has added muscle to his legs, and he spends more time stretching. He even added hot yoga to his summer workout routine.

Pitt basketball’s strength and conditioning coach Tim Beltz worked with Young during the recovery process, and the two worked during the offseason to create a more appropriate body type for Young.

“With basketball players, that’s what’s going to help them be the most successful and durable,” Beltz said. “The biggest, heaviest guys don’t win in this game. You’ve got to be long, lean and athletic to play at a higher level. And to play at our level, and to play postcollege, your body has got to be of utmost FROM PAGE 11

JOHNSON He also needed to utilize the year to improve his mindset during games.

“When I came in, I was more offensiveminded. All I wanted to do was shoot and jack up shots,” Johnson said.

But that isn’t Dixon’s primary focus at Pitt.

“Play defense and rebound, or you won’t play,” Dixon insisted.

“Just hearing that, I thought there’s no way I can ride the bench,” Johnson said. “I got to do whatever I got to do to get out on the court and help my team win games. I just took that and held on to it and I use it every day.”

With that mentality, he played a role off the bench in his freshman season. His improved defense and rebounding allowed him to see the floor, and his 3-point shooting kept him there. Johnson averaged 4.3 points in 11.9 minutes per game, making 38 percent of his shots behind the 3-point line. When Pitt needed a spark, he was often the one to deliver it.

Notably, he hit three 3-pointers in two games against Villanova, helping Pitt maneuver out of offensive ruts and win both games.

The season helped springboard Johnson into becoming one of the better sixth men in the ACC last season. In the offseason leading up to it, Johnson focused on continuing to become a complete player.

“Being around with Coach Dixon, I just had

importance.”

Beltz added that it’s not just about weight.

“It’s about preparing our bodies, making sure they’re elastic and explosive,” he said.

“We don’t just want somebody that can jump 45 inches one time in a vertical leap. We want somebody that can repeat a high-level effort consistently.”

With Pitt’s depth at center, Dixon confirmed that Young will also get time at power forward. Young claims that his fine-tuned body is now capable of matching up against anyone on the floor, but said he’s most comfortable playing center.

And with heavy emphasis on the words “one time,” Dixon summed up Young’s status with an utterance that fans annually ring through the Petersen Events Center’s air every senior day.

“I would like to get through the year healthy one time and see how we can go with the group we started with,” Dixon said. “We’ll see how it goes.” to know that I had to mix my game up — I got to get to the rim, I got to make my teammates better, make the extra pass, do the little things that count,” Johnson said.

Finally, Johnson started to see further results for his hard work. Using his athleticism, Johnson held his own on the boards, averaging three rebounds a game. He developed a firm grasp of Pitt’s defensive tactics, switching well and playing especially effectively in zone defense, averaging one steal per game. Most surprisingly though, Johnson accumulated a solid 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

“He had become a pretty good playmaker for us. His assist to turnover numbers were good,” Dixon said. “And that’s from a guy who didn’t know what that phrase meant when he first got here.”

Limiting turnovers was just part of the overall improvement Johnson showed.

“I was getting in my comfort zone out there, everything was flowing,” Johnson said.

It really started to come together for Johnson in ACC play, when he scored 17 points against Maryland and 11 points against Wake Forest.

And then, after landing awkwardly on his right leg against Wake Forest, his season was over.

“I was devastated. All I could think about was ‘could I play again? Would I play again?”

Johnson said.

Read part two of Johnson’s recovery back to the court in tomorrow’s paper.

FROM PAGE 9

INJURIES who lost her season to injury before it even started. As a result of the injuries, the Panthers will be suiting up only nine healthy players to start the season, five of whom have no game experience.

But McConnell-Serio said that experience will improve the newcomers during the season.

“Game experience is going to be key,” McConnell-Serio said. “The three freshmen are going to be thrown into the fire early.”

Trying to simulate game experience has been a focal point of recent practices in preparation for the season, as McConnellSerio pointed to keeping the young women out of foul trouble as another important part of the upcoming year.

13 “We’ve brought in officials to try and give them an idea of how the game is going to be called,” she said. “Keeping them on the floor is going to be a big thing.”

However, the team points to some positives of a smaller roster.

“We’ve grown closer, and we have more chemistry together,” McManus said.

Challenges will test the chemistry this season, but, for now, good vibes surround the team.

“There is a renewed enthusiasm for the returning players because there is so much energy and excitement in this team right now,” McConnell-Serio said.

The Panthers will get to unleash that energy when they take on IUP in an exhibition game on Nov. 8.

“Just know that we’re going to be ready this year,” McManus said. “Pitt women’s basketball, coming in, coming strong.”

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