Pittsburgh basketball 2013-14 season preview

Bench: F Durand Johnson, G Josh Newkirk

Overview: Jamie Dixon leads his Pittsburgh Panthers squad into the ACC with a roster missing a few key players from last year’s 24-9 team. Tray Woodall, a star point guard who made significant contributions in all four years as a Panther, has graduated, and Steven Adams, a one-and-done 7-footer, was picked 12th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder in last June's NBA Draft.

Despite the losses, Pittsburgh boasts an experienced frontcourt and a talented backcourt. Sophomore point guard James Robinson will have an increased offensive role after starting 32-of-33 games and averaging 6.1 points per game last year. Known for his superb decision-making and defensive prowess, Robinson concluded his freshman campaign ranked ninth nationally and first in the Big East in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Senior small forward Lamar Patterson will benefit most from Robinson’s ball distribution. The versatile Patterson started every game last season—either at shooting guard, small forward, or power forward—and averaged 10.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Joining Robinson and Patterson in the starting lineup is center Talib Zanna, who is slated to become the go-to option in the paint after averaging 9.6 points and 6.1 rebounds while sharing minutes with Adams a season ago. Zanna will be accompanied by freshman power forward Mike Young, ranked 57th in his class by ESPN, and junior power forward Derrick Randall, a transfer from Rutgers. Playing in the very talented ACC, Pittsburgh is likely to find itself in the middle of the conference standings when all is said and done.