Ray Fittipaldo: season. You guys can fire away with questions when you're ready.

Doug: Good day, Ray! I was wondering if you could comment on what you feel is the flavor and/or the style of the Pitt team this year (i.e. are we going to be a shooting team, an up tempo team, a defensive team, etc.)

Ray Fittipaldo: Doug, I think we're going to find out tomorrow night. The players continue to talk about how they're going to be more up-tempo this season. They put in the work and all appear to be in great shape, something they'll need if they're going to run. I don't want to be a skeptic, but Jamie Dixon has won with a different style for the past five seasons. That's with suffocating defense and a half-court offense. I'm not saying the Panthers won't be different, but Dixon will coach with the same principles with which he has been effective for the past few years.

99fcpanther: Do you think Diggs and McGhee will get minutes this sesaon as backups to Blair or is McGhee a candidate for a redshirt?

Ray Fittipaldo: Originally, the plan was to try to redshirt McGhee, but I'm not sure if they'll be able to do that. I know it was only two exhibition games, but I thought McGhee outplayed Diggs. I think they'll go with Diggs as Blair's backup in hopes that he can fill that role, but if he does not play up to par, McGhee could find himself playing a role on the team this season. We'll see how that develops over the first few weeks.

99fcpanther: What are your thoughts on all 16 teams competing in the Big East Tournament? I think its great. It just adds to what is already the best event I've ever been too and an extra day in New York doesn't hurt either.

Ray Fittipaldo: I'm not a huge fan of the expansion of the tournament. With 12 teams, the regular season meant something for the lower tier teams in the league. If you didn't perform well, you got penalized and weren't allowed to take part in the tournament. If you were good enough, you got to go. It was all pressure from the coaches. The coaches at the Seton Halls, South Floridas and St. Johns of the world complained that playing in the tournament hurt their recruiting. I'm sure it does, but now everyone has a free pass and there is no sense of accomplishment for making it to New York in the first place. Not to mention that you now have two full days of what basically amount to preliminary games.

jumpin_jaime: Didnt Pitt have a high profile recruit on campus for the weekend that they played IUP? Did he enjoy his visit and what are chances Pitt gets him?

Ray Fittipaldo: The recruit was Kevin Jones from Mount Vernon High School in Mount Vernon, N.Y. That's the same school that produced former Pitt great Clyde Vaughan and current Pitt player Keith Benjamin. Jones is a top 100 player and also took visits to WVU, Indiana and Massachusetts. He is supposed to make his decision soon and Pitt is apparently in good shape. We might hear something later this week or next week.

jumpin_jaime: How did Pitt end up with very little experienced size in the front court? Having Blair at 6'7" as your tallest player will be tough considering Ramon and Fields will also be starting

Ray Fittipaldo: Pitt has been somewhat spoiled the past few years with Aaron Gray and Levon Kendall in the post. They were 7-foot and 6-10 respectively. Not every team in a major conference has that kind of talent and height. Pitt has plenty of talent in the frontcourt with Blair and Sam Young. They're just going to have to use their athleticism toi create mismatches against the bigger players they'll be facing later in the season. Dixon also must be aware of double-teaming and perhaps playing more zone because it's going to be difficult against the bigger post players. Dixon has size with Diggs and McGhee, but they'll play in reserve roles for the time being. In a year or two, maybe McGhee will be ready to be the starting center and Blair can switch to power forward. But that's a long way off, and it might never happen.

BuseysTwoMeatballSubs: Will this be Pitt's best outside shooting team in the Dixon era?

Ray Fittipaldo: Last season's team was pretty good in that area, so it would be a big leap to say this team will be better. Only Antonio Graves graduated, so most of the players who put up those terrific shooting stats are back. You just hope they produce the way they did last season. I'm certain Ramon will have great numbers if he is healthy. The others are streaky shooters, so we'll have to see how they do.

jumpin_jaime: Does Pitt have tough non-conference games scheduled for next year. If so, who are they so far?

Ray Fittipaldo: The non-conference schedule for next season is not complete, but you will not see many tough non-league games next season or after that because the Big East now has an 18-game league schedule. You're adding two potentially difficult games, so you need to eliminate two similar games in the non-conference. I would expect to see maybe one home-and-home series each season and then maybe a game like the one Pitt will play against Duke at Madison Square Garden in the future. Pitt has several tough non-league games this season -- at Washington, at home against Oklahoma State, Duke at the Garden and at Dayton. All but the Duke game were in the books before the Big East announced the move to an 18-game schedule, so there was no way Pitt was going to get out of them.

shady4heisman08: What tough non-conference games do you see for Pitt? How many losses do you see them going into Big East play with?

Ray Fittipaldo: Duke is a top 15 team. The game is being played at Madison Square Garden, but it is basically a home game for the Blue Devils. They were given the majority of the tickets to sell for the game. That will be a tough game. Also, the trip to Seattle to play Washington will be tough. The Huskies might not be a great team this season, but Jon Brockman is back and they have some good guards coming back. They played Pitt tough last season at the Pete. Also, don't underestimate how difficult it is to play at Dayton. That arena will be packed and it will be loud.

jumpin_jaime: Why isnt RMU on Pitt's schedule this year?

Ray Fittipaldo: RMU had been discussing getting out of that game because Pitt has won so many in a row. I think it's something like 25 or 28 in a row. That was when Mark Schmidt was there. I believe Mike Rice wanted to continue playing Pitt, but Dixon does not like to schedule former assistants for games. He does not feel comfortable doing that. He'll do it for exhibition games but not when they count.

BuseysTwoMeatballSubs: I'm not too worried about Pitt's size since McGhee and Diggs will bring size off the bench, but what weaknesses do you see down in the post?

Ray Fittipaldo: Just the post defense. Blair has heart and is a warrior, so he will not be outworked on the boards. But it's going to be interesting to see him play against Roy Hibbert and David Padgett when the time comes.

jumpin_jaime: With Sam Young being a power forward, will Pitt ask him to stay down low more this year? He loves to shoot three pointers and jump shots. Tyrell Biggs is the same way. Pitt needs all rebounding help they can get this year.

Ray Fittipaldo: Young and Blair did shoot a lot of outside shots during the exhibition schedule. Biggs is that type of player. He is not a good inside scorer. Young, however, does have some moves in the post and has proven he can score down there. I think it will depend on the matchups, but yes, Young and Biggs will have to pitch in on the defensive boards.

99fcpanther: What is Tom Herrion's role on the coaching staff? Is he Dixon's top assistant and what kind of attributes does he bring to the mix both in terms of recruiting and coaching style?

Ray Fittipaldo: Dixon does not put titles on his assistants all that often. Herrion was brought in to replace Mike Rice. He will be on the road recruiting and has contacts up and down the east coast. He's been around, so Dixon can lean on him for advice as well as far as in-game decisions go.

Ray Fittipaldo: Thanks for all the great questions. We'll do it again next week at the same time.