Big East Conference report

SportsLine.com Report
June 9, 2000

Even with a new coach and some new faces, this Steel City soap opera stayed true to its usual losing script. Yet, considering the Panthers often played with only six scholarship players, things could have been worse.

Much worse.

There was a laundry list of trials and tribulations. Senior guard Kellii Taylor (failed drug test) and junior forward Derrick Worrell (bad attitude) were kicked off the team, redshirt senior forward Isaac Hawkins was charged with disorderly conduct after cops found marijuana cigarettes on the table of his apartment and freshman forward Donatas Zavackas sat out a three-game suspension for illegal use of a university code to make long-distance calls.

Besides sifting through this mess, coach Ben Howland had his own problems -- his father underwent major heart surgery in mid-February.

By the second month of the new year, the coach could only play six scholarship players since his roster was decimated by departures.

Yet, the Panthers played on, and even came close to finishing .500 by winning three of their final five games. Junior forward Ricardo Greer led the way by almost averaging a double-double, earning second-team All-Big East honors in the process.

They also got contributions from sophomore center Chris Seabrooks -- one of the league's most improved players -- and freshman point guard Brandin Knight. With their help, the Panthers beat NIT teams Notre Dame, Rutgers and Villanova at home, probably ruining the NCAA Tournament hopes for Notre Dame and 'Nova in the process.

Considering the drama this season brought about, the Panthers were at least respectable. All things considered, this wasn't a bad season at all.

"We've had a lot of adversity," Howland said after losing to Villanova in the first round of the Big East Tournament. "Our guys have fought through it. We've won three of the last five games. They hung in there, never quit. So they've had a good attitude and tried to, you know, tried to continue to play hard throughout the year. It's been a tough year."

A glance at 2001

Pittsburgh came close to finishing .500 despite being a season-long victim of Murphy's Law. With four starters returning, the Panthers could break even next season and make a run at an NIT bid.

Greer, the Big East's co-most improved player of the year, returns after a stellar season. He will probably be joined up front by Seabrooks and Hawkins on what should be the team's best frontline in some time, with Zavackas and Nebraska transfer Chad Johnson providing depth. In the backcourt, Knight will probably team with Jaron Brown, who sat out this season because he didn't meet NCAA academic requirements.

The coach

This was a trying season for Howland. Between the Panthers losing games and players -- not to mention having to deal with his father's mid-season heart surgery -- he deserves a lot of credit for the job he did this season.

Howland has experience turning around a program. He did so at Northern Arizona, posting three consecutive 20-win seasons after going 16-36 in his first two seasons there. And he has better resources to work with at Pitt. He has already shown he can discipline players, as well as develop their games. Both are good signs for the future.

Who'll be back

Pittsburgh will return four starters and six of its top eight players. Greer (18.1 ppg, 9.8 rpg) will again be the go-to guy and will be joined by Seabrooks (10.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg) up front. Knight (8.5 ppg, 5.5 apg, 2.8 spg) will again run the offense, while Zavackas (7.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg) will come off the bench since Hawkins (12.7 ppg, 8.9 rpg in 1998-99) is returning from a broken right leg.

Walk-ons Griffin Abel and John Finneman played sparingly this season and probably will not crack the rotation next season.

Who's gone

Besides losing Taylor and Worrell earlier this season, senior guards Jeremy Holmes (5.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Jarrett Lockhart (11.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg) must be replaced. Holmes was an underrated point guard, while Lockhart was a streaky but sometimes explosive scorer.

Key newcomers

Pittsburgh's roster will undergo something of an overhaul for next season. Considering this team lacked depth and talent, perhaps that's not a bad thing.

• C Toree Morris (6-10, 275): Ranked No. 99 nationally by the Insiders Report website, he could step in and play right away. A product of Clinton (Tenn.) High School, he signed early.
• SG Jaron Brown (6-4, 225, Soph.): This Lexington, Ky., native signed with Pittsburgh out of Maine Central Institute but sat out this season because of academics. He averaged eight points and eight rebounds while leading MCI to a 34-4 mark and the New England Prep Schools Championship in 1999. A McDonald's honorable mention All-American.
• Others: SG Julius Page, (6-3, 185, Buffalo, N.Y./Turner-Carroll High School); SG Yuri Demetris, (6-4, 200, Pittsburgh/Shaler High School); SF Chad Johnson, (6-5, 215, Tallahassee, Fla./transfer from Nebraska).