Q: This has to be the hardest loss to take as a Pitt fan. If you look at the stats minus FG percentage and rebounds you would have thought Pitt had a cakewalk. I applaud the effort of the team but once again Pitt ends a season by beating themselves with poor shooting. MSU played very well but Pitt had ample open shots that were not buried. I feel for Ronald Ramon. The kid played his whole career battling various nagging injuries but still managed to give his all game in and game out. He will be greatly missed and I thank him for his effort. My question is will Sam Young return? As a Pitt fan I hope but as a basketball fan I think he would benefit from one more year in the spotlight to up his draft position?

Tim Bowers, Toano, Va.

FITTIPALDO: Young likely will go through the process of the NBA predraft camps and get a gauge on where he will be drafted. It all depends upon how he performs at these camps and individual workouts. I agree that he could use another year in college, but all it takes is one team tell him they like him and will draft him in the first round.

Q: Bad loss to Michigan State, but I think a very positive season overall. Question: If Sam Young stays and everyone makes moderate personal improvements, do you think next year will be the year we make the final 8? And, do you think given our personnel Dixon should move Blair to power forward and Young to small forward?

David Dutwin, Merion Station, Pa.

FITTIPALDO: If Young decides to stay the Panthers will begin next season in the top 10 or 15 of the preseason poll. If Young comes back, Dixon would have his top three scorers returning.

It's an interesting question you pose about Blair. If you look at the rebounding statistics this season, Pitt was not a great rebounding team. The Panthers were No. 44 in NCAA Division I entering the Michigan State game. The Spartans beat them up on the boards, 37-26. Many teams did that to Pitt this season.

I would like to see Young at small forward, Blair at power forward, Gary McGhee at center, Levance Fields at point guard and Gilbert Brown at shooting guard. Without seeing the incoming freshman, I believe those are your five best players next season. Dixon could

bring Biggs off the bench to sub for Blair and McGhee and Wanamaker could be the first guard off the bench. I'm sure one or two of the freshmen or junior-college transfers will be in the mix as well.

McGhee might only be able to give you seven points and seven rebounds a game, but his height could cure a lot of Pitt's problems in the rebounding department. There's no question in my mind that Blair would

flourish as a power forward. Young would have to make the adjustment to small forward, but it's a position he wants to play. Brown is not a great shooter, but he is one of your top five players, so you have to hope he develops into a better outside shooter over the summer.

Q: In watching the game Saturday night against Michigan State, it appeared as if some of the players (such as Ronald Ramon) were really fatigued. Did the game being played in Denver catch up with some of the guys, or playing four games in four days against Big East opponents? Or was fatigue not a factor in this game? You have to give Michigan State credit, but Pitt obviously had to get more offense out of Ronald Ramon and Keith Benjamin.

Aileen Bowers, Center Township

FITTIPALDO: I interviewed Bobby Knight last Thursday before Pitt's first-round game aganist Oral Roberts and asked him the question about Pitt being tired after the Big East tournament. He said it would not be an issue for this reason: The Panthers won a Big East championship by winning four games in four days. Playing two games in three days should seem like a cakewalk by comparison. His reasoning makes sense. Blaming the four games in four days is a nice excuse, but I don't think it was the reason Pitt lost. The Panthers lost because Michigan State played a better game and had the Spartans' older players stepped up to win the game.

Q: I think Ben Howland was right in saying he took the progrm as far as it can go. Why can't we get at least one All-American to help break this win one or two and done cycle?

Greg Jackson, Plum

FITTIPALDO: I don't remember Howland saying that, but I know people believe that about Pitt. Many believe it's a school where you can have some success, but it's a not a school that can get to the Final Four. The people who believe that do not think the local recruiting base is big or good enough to sustain a Final Four type program. Coaches at Pitt have to go to New York and Washignton, D.C. to get players. DeJuan Blair was the first top 100 type recruit in years.

Pitt can most certainly develop into a program that gets past the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, but I believe Dixon must begin to recruit better players. Look at what Howland is doing at UCLA with a couple of

McDonald's All-Americans. It's the same system with better players. If Dixon gets one or two elite players the Panthers can most definitely play deep into the NCAA tournament.

Thanks for all the insightful questions this season. I enjoyed hearing your views on Pitt basketball. Save those questions for the fall and we'll pick up the Q&A again in October before the season begins.