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Q: How well do you think the team and Jamie Dixon are handling the pressure of being one of the top programs in college basketball? Are these pressures demonstrated in their quality wins against good teams and their losses to bad teams?

Roy Baldwin of Hershey

FITTIPALDO: Pitt's up-and-down season has more to do with inexperience at a few positions than handling the pressure that goes along with being a top program. Dixon is starting two first-year starters in Levon Kendall and Antonio Graves and his sixth man is freshman Ronald Ramon. Anytime you have that many new players on the perimeter there's going to be problems with turnovers and defense because those two things get better with experience. As for handling the pressure, I think Dixon and his leaders - Chevy Troutman and Carl Krauser - are doing a fine job of keeping things in perspective. They know it's a long season, and they've preached patience with the young players all along. After the past few weeks, it's seems like that patience is starting to pay off.

Q: Has there been any thought given to using Chris Taft and Aaron Gray on the floor at the same time? Gray is a solid player off the bench, but Taft is forced to leave the game when he comes in. This would give Taft some experience at the power forward position, which is probably where he would play in the NBA. Chevy could move to small forward. Chevy has proven he can make outside shots.

Jeff Rodgers of Rochester, Minn.

FITTIPALDO: Dixon has been asked about having Taft and Gray on the floor at the same time on many occasions this season, and each time his response is the same: It presents too many matchup problems on defense. Maybe now that Taft's defense seems to be coming around some, it might be more of an option, but I doubt it. Dixon has his rotation working well right now, and I don't foresee him changing it down the stretch unless something out of the ordinary comes up. Yes, Chevy has proven he can step out and make a 3-pointer every so often, but why take him out of the low post when he is dominating? Pitt has won six of seven. When it's not broken, don't fix it.

Q: Why does Jamie Dixon play Antonio Graves so many minutes? I understand that he doesn't have many other options, but he is a turnover machine, he consistently gets beat off the dribble and is not a scoring threat. I would much rather see Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin in the game than Graves.

Dan Kuhar of Hamburg, N. J.

FITTIPALDO: Dixon is back to using Graves in a prominent role after limiting his minutes for a five-game stretch in the middle of the Big East schedule. Since he was given his minutes back, Graves has responded with a couple of good games. He had 10 points against Notre Dame and 9 points against Syracuse. Graves tells me he had trouble fitting in to the offense again after his midseason ankle injury. He said he has a tendency to worry about whether he'll come out of the game if he makes a bad play. He has stopped thinking so much and is just going out there and playing. The new free-wheeling attitude has worked. If Graves can continue to score about 8 or 10 points a game, make his open 3-pointers and limit his turnovers, Pitt will be in good shape the rest of the way.

Q: How can Pitt get over the hump of the Sweet 16 this season? How do you see other teams following the lead of West Virginia and Notre Dame and shooting a lot of 3-pointers come tournament time?

Bob McAlister of Hopewell

FITTIPALDO: WVU and Notre Dame shoot a lot of 3-pointers no matter who they're playing. If they had more success maybe teams would consider it, but WVU had just 64 points at the end of regulation and Notre Dame just 66. That's not a lot of points. Pitt's perimeter defense is not as good as it was last season, but there were some signs in the Syracuse games that it's getting better. Syracuse was 5 for 22 from 3-point range and Gerry McNamara was just 3 for 13. Pitt could still be exploited by a good 3-point shooting team, but teams that live and die by the 3-pointer die more often than live.

Q: This is more of a comment than a question. I am a Pitt fan for life and a big college basketball fan. I have lived in Detroit for seven years for four years in Atlanta before that, when Georgia Tech made back-to-back Final Fours with Lethal Weapon 3 (Anderson, Oliver, Scott), so that is my perspective. West Virginia was a classic upset game: on the road, in an emotional atmosphere. Pitt played solid and forced WVU into low-percentage shots. The Mountaineers made them. No shame in that. Upsets happen. We ruined their football season. They shock us in basketball. And how can fans complain about not getting past the Sweet 16 the past three seasons. I am overjoyed that Pitt went to three straight. And furthermore, take it from perennial tournament teams like Arizona, Duke and Kansas that the years you go far in the tournament are the years you get favorable matchups. Not the year you play a red-hot Marquette team or a top 5 Oklahoma State team, but the year you draw Kent State. That was the year Pitt should have advanced. Pitt fans need to stop transferring ESPN high-profile expectations and hype on a relative newcomer to being a national power. Relax and enjoy the run. Hopefully, it will last a long time.

Judd Stricker of Detroit, Mich.

FITTIPALDO: Well said on your NCAA tournament rant, although I must disagree with you on the WVU game. WVU had wide-open looks at so many of those 3-pointers. If you give any decent shooter that much room, they're going to start knocking down some shots. Pitt is more talented than WVU and should not have been in position to lose that game. As Carl Krauser and Chris Taft said after the game, the Panthers took the Mountaineers lightly. That, not the fact that it was a rivalry game, was the reason Pitt lost.

Q: Why isn't Pitt considering playing the West Virginia and Connecticut games at Mellon Arena? Both games would sell out to bigger crowds, thereby creating bigger revenue, excitement and recognition for the Pitt basketball franchise. Many fans are shut out from the Petersen Events Center, which is closed to all but season ticket holders. With the hockey season in limbo, Pitt basketball should be stepping up as a community asset. I'm for adding a women's game to generate more interest. Other programs have done this successfully.

Max Levine of Pittsburgh

FITTIPALDO: Part of the reason Pitt wanted the Petersen Events Center built was to create a demand for tickets. With 12,500 seats at the Pete, there is high demand right now for Pitt basketball, and there is a waiting list for season tickets. Goal accomplished. Yes, Pitt would benefit financially from playing a game or two at Mellon Arena, but the Panthers would lose their home-court advantage. Basketball games at the Igloo are more sterile because fans aren't on top of the action like they are at the Pete. I disagree that it would create more recognition or excitement. Pitt is a well-known commodity nationally and is covered well by electronic and print media locally.

Q: This is the first time in Pitt's four-year run that Pitt has more than one player who has NBA talent, with Chevy Troutman, Chris Taft, Carl Krauser and even Aaron Gray and maybe even Kendall depending upon his progress over the next two years. I think Gray and Kendall have NBA bodies. What are your thoughts and the reasons Pitt is producing more NBA players?

Bill Beveridge of Wilmerding

FITTIPALDO: Taft and Gray will play in the NBA, Bill. Let's not get ahead of ourselves with the others. If he is rated high enough, Taft is likely to make the jump after this season. Gray will stay all four years, continue to get better and could play for years if he keeps himself in shape. He is 7 feet, and as they say, you can't teach size. Krauser could play in the NBA, but he's not a lock. I don't think Troutman is either because of his size. He is a great college basketball player, but I'm not sure where he plays in the NBA. Troutman could make some nice money playing professional basketball somewhere, but he could try and play in the NFL, too. I don't see Kendall playing in the NBA, but I could be wrong. He does have nice size, but he'd have to develop his shooting to have a chance.

Q: Why is Pitt so reluctant to run when its half-court offense bogs down? They seem to have the personnel to be a running team. I really don't understand Pitt's half-court offense anyway. They stand around and wait for Krauser to drive or have Taft or Troutman overpower their man. Why not run a motion offense like Georgetown?

Kurt Nestel from Punxsutawney

FITTIPALDO: Pitt has enough of a problem with turnovers as it is. If the Panthers tried to run more, they'd be out of their element. The program was built on half-court defense and half-court offense. It can look bad at times, but how can you argue with the numbers Troutman and Krauser are putting up. They've been phenomenal, especially in the last month. By the way, Pitt does run a motion offense.

Q: What is really going on with senior forward Mark McCarroll? He was a major spark off the bench last season, not only on offense but with his defense. I think Pitt is missing his production. What has he done to get into Jamie Dixon's doghouse? This is his last year, and I think he should be making more of a contribution. This reminds me of Toree Morris last year.

Gerrodd from Houston

FITTIPALDO: Mark's biggest problem is his defense. If he is asked to play a forward that forward backs him down and gets an easy basket. If he is asked to guard a small forward, that small forward goes around him and draws a foul or gets an easy basket. Pitt has played some 2-3 zone this season, and I think McCarroll could do better in a zone, but Dixon likes his guard play with Antonio Graves, Ronald Ramon and even Keith Benjamin. You say he is Dixon's doghouse, but Dixon did give him a chance by starting him for a game after Yuri Demetris was suspended. That game he started was against Connecticut. McCarroll responded with this statistic line: zero points, zero rebounds, two fouls, one turnover and one steal in 11 minutes. His role has diminished this season, but I think it has more to do with the infusion of young guard talent than McCarroll himself.

Q: Earlier this year I asked a question about Chris Taft. I said he wasn't pro material now because he doesn't have the heart and desire. He might have the abilities, but he doesn't have the desire. You told me he had it all. Ten games later, I say the same thing. He lacks desire and heart. He's maybe a little lazy, too. How do you feel now?

Ronald Cavato of Florida.

FITTIPALDO: Taft has all of the athleticism to be an NBA player right now. He needs to work on his low post game and his offensive repertoire. He has not been effective with his back to the basket this season. Most of his points come off dunks or layups. It has to be tough for him being the third option on this team. But he really hasn't done anything to warrant more touches. His defense is starting to become a little better, although he is far from a great defender. All of that said, he could still be a lottery pick because of his natural ability and upside. I don't know how much scouts have changed their minds in the last few weeks, but I don't imagine he fell completely off the radar. He just has too much ability.

Q: I have enjoyed hearing about what past Pitt players are doing and where they are playing. How about some more? Ricky Greer? Brandin Knight?

Adam Webber of Canton, Ohio

FITTIPALDO: Knight signed a 10-day contract with the Houston Rockets about a month ago and played in one game before he was cut. He went back to his NBA developmental league team and broke his leg and is out for the season. Give me a week to find out what Greer is doing and I'll write about it next week.

Q: I worked in the USSR for five years. Julius Page is in for culture shock. I met some Russian movie stars on the set of a film and they all had to drink water out of a sink with a common dipper. There was no special treatment. You have to see life there to believe it.

Ken Kuechler of Ellenton, Fla.

FITTIPALDO: I don't doubt that it's a different culture over there. But you wouldn't see so many American players go overseas to play unless they were treated well. Page told me he stands to make about $10,000 a month for his Russian team. For that kind of money, players tend to put up with cultural differences.