The 2009–10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Jamie Dixon, who was in his 7th year as head coach at Pittsburgh and 11th overall at the university. The team played its home games in the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 13–5 in Big East play and lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Big East men's basketball tournament. They received an at–large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning a 3 seed in the West Region. They defeated 14 seed Oakland in the first round before losing to 6 seed and AP No. 25 Xavier in the second round.
Outlook The Pittsburgh Panthers advanced to last season's NCAA Elite Eight. The team lost four starters, including NBA draft selections Sam Young and DeJuan Blair, along with point guard Levance Fields and forward/center Tyrell Biggs. Guard Jermaine Dixon was the only returning starter from last season's squad while projected starter Gilbert Brown was suspended for the fall semester for academic reasons, although he reenrolled and returned to the team in December. Four freshman joined the Panthers, including McDonald's High School All-American Dante Taylor. Also new to the team was senior guard Chase Adams, a transfer from Centenary College of Louisiana. The Panthers' roster was the most inexperienced in the Big East, with six freshmen, two sophomores and only two seniors, and when Dixon went down with a foot injury in the offseason, ruling him out until well into December, the remaining roster had a total of one career start.
The Panthers were selected to finish 9th in the Big East by the Big East coaches during their conference media day.
Coaching staff NameHotchkiss, pg 66–74 Position Year at Pittsburgh Alma Mater (Year) Jamie Dixon Head coach 11th (7th as head coach) TCU (1987) Tom Herrion Associate head coach 3rd Merrimack (1989) Pat Sandle Assistant coach 9th San Francisco State (1987) Brandin Knight Assistant coach 4th University of Pittsburgh (2005) Brian Regan Director of Operations 3rd Saint Vincent (1988) Rasheen Davis Video Coordinator 2nd St. Thomas Aquinas (2005)
Recruiting
Roster
Name # Position Height Weight (lb.) Year Hometown Previous School 3 Guard 190 2Senior Baltimore, MD Centenary/Mount Saint Joseph HS * 5 Guard/Forward 200 2Junior (RS) Harrisburg, PA South Kent School 24 Guard 200 3Senior, Transfer Baltimore, MD Tallahassee CC/Maine Central Inst/Blake HS 44 Guard 205 2Junior Mars, PA Mars Area HS 12 Guard 190 1Sophomore Scotch Plains, NJ Seton Hall Prep 52 Center 250 2Junior Anderson, IN Highland HS 25 Forward 240 1Freshman (RS) Nassau, Bahamas St. Pius X HS 21 Guard/Forward 220 1Freshman Lancaster, PA St. Benedict's Prep/J.P. McCaskey H.S. 55 Forward 235 1Freshman Missouri City, TX Fort Bend Hightower HS 14 Guard 180 1Junior Phoenix, AZ Brophy College Prep 35 Forward 220 1Sophomore Chester, PA Chester HS 11 Forward 240 1Freshman Greenburgh, NY National Christian Academy (MD) 22 Guard 210 2Junior Philadelphia, PA Roman Catholic HS 1 Guard 190 1Freshman (RS) Brooklyn, NY St. Anthony HS 42 Forward 225 1Freshman Kaduna, Nigeria Bishop McNamara HS (MD) *Suspended for the fall semester for academic reasons, but re-enrolled and returned to the team in December.
Schedule
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Exhibition
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Regular season
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | Big East tournament
!colspan=9 style="background:#091C44; color:#CEC499;" | NCAA tournament
Rankings
+ Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. rv=Others receiving votes. Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 WK 17 Wk 18 Final AP rv rv rv rv rv rv rv -- 23 16 9 17 22 25 19 12 17 16 18 n/a Coaches rv rv rv rv -- -- -- -- rv 20 11 17 21 23 21 16 18 16 16 20
Accomplishments Pitt achieved a school record ninth straight 20-win season and a school record ninth straight season with 10 wins in the Big East Conference. Sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs was named Second-Team All-Big East. Ashton Gibbs was named the Big East's most improved player. Ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
References