Pitt senior guard Mike Cook is out for the season after injuring his left knee in the Panthers' 65-64 victory against Duke Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Cook tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee after he planted and his knee buckled 32 seconds into overtime. His medial and lateral menisci also were torn. He will have surgery at a later date and face a rehabilitation of 9-12 months.

"It's really tough for us, for everyone involved in the program," coach Jamie Dixon said last night. "It hurts because we've seen the kid grow and become a leader. We saw him take on roles that were new to him, and he relished the opportunity. But I know he'll continue to provide that leadership for us now in a different way."

It is the second season-ending injury for Pitt in the past two weeks. Freshman forward Austin Wallace fractured the patella in his left knee in practice Dec. 7, the day before Pitt played at Washington.

Cook's loss will sting the Panthers. He was averaging 10.4 points per game and was Pitt's fourth-leading scorer. He had started 48 consecutive games after transferring from East Carolina three years ago.

Yesterday's news confirmed what Dixon and the Panthers knew in their hearts last night. Dixon was having trouble holding it together after the game. He got choked up speaking about Cook at the postgame news conference. Tears welled in his eyes. It was Dixon who held Cook's hand and cradled his head when he was sprawled on the floor, screaming in pain 30 minutes earlier.

"We knew right away," Dixon said. "As soon as I got to him, he said, 'Coach, it popped.' You just knew at that point."

Cook was shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from the 3-point range. He was the team's best free-throw shooter, too, making 83.3 percent of his attempts (30 for 36).

Pitt will miss Cook's ability to break down his defender and get to the basket. He was one of Pitt's best one-on-one players and was someone the Panthers looked to when a play failed and the shot clock was winding down.

Dixon said he and Pitt's staff had not talked about the possibilities of a medical redshirt for Cook, but they will look into that over the Christmas break.NCAA rules, however, might prevent Pitt from applying for one for Cook because he already had played in 11 games this season.

With Cook out of the lineup, Pitt will look to freshman Gilbert Brown or senior Keith Benjamin to start at small forward. Dixon said he will worry about that when the players return from break Christmas day. Either way, both will see a significant boost in their minutes.

"Keith and Gilbert have to step up," junior forward Sam Young said. "One of them will be the new starter on the team. They have big shoes to fill. As a team, we have confidence in those two."

Cook's backup had been Brown, who played well in a limited role through the first 11 games. He is averaging 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

Benjamin is averaging 5.9 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Benjamin has starting experience at small forward. He became the starter there late during his freshman season and has played there periodically throughout his career.

"We have to step up as a whole," junior point guard Levance Fields said. "Keith is a senior. He's not new to this if the opportunity presents itself for him to be in the starting lineup. He'll be ready.

"Gil gave us some good minutes [against Duke]. He did a great job on defense, moving his feet and helping. He'll help us. And the so-called stars on the team are going to have to play even better."

Another player who figures to get back into the rotation because of Cook's injury is freshman guard Bradley Wanamaker, who has not played since the Duquesne game Dec. 4. With Benjamin likely playing small forward and shooting guard, Wanamaker could get some minutes at shooting guard, his natural position. Wanamaker had been playing mostly point guard through the first two months of the season.

Pitt is 11-0 and will be ranked in the top 10 of both polls when the new rankings come out Monday.

Cook was a big part of the undefeated record, but Young said the Panthers have what it takes to keep playing at a high level without him.

"This team never has been based around one person," Young said. "I think we have a lot of people who can step up on any given day. In the first half, I didn't play particularly well, but DeJuan stepped up and Levance stepped up.

"Other players on the team lift us up when someone else is down. I'm sure Keith and Gilbert will step right in and be big contributors for us."