Pitt was about to enter the 2009-10 season without a veteran point guard, but a little known NCAA rule allowed the Panthers to land a senior transfer who will be eligible to play this season.

Chase Adams, a starter at Centenary College the past three seasons, will enroll at Pitt in a couple of weeks and will find himself competing for time at point guard, an area of concern for the Panthers after the graduation of four-year starter Levance Fields.

The other two players on the roster who are in the competition don't have much experience. Sophomore Ashton Gibbs was Fields' backup last season and averaged 4.3 points in 35 games played. Travon Woodall played in only 10 games last season before taking a redshirt.

At Centenary, which competed last season in the Summit League, Adams averaged 14.6 points, 4.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. In addition, Adams was named the Summit League defensive player of the year and led the league with 83 steals.

Adams visited Pitt Thursday and Friday and signed his scholarship papers yesterday. He said he was told by Pitt coaches that he will be afforded the opportunity to compete at point guard.

"It's definitely a situation where there is going to be competition," Adams said. "I'm going to compete and hopefully show my experience. Wherever I fit in that's what I'm going to do."

Adams was allowed to transfer without sitting out a year because Centenary is making the transition from Division I to Division III. Adams said he thought about transferring to a bigger Division I school after his sophomore season, but was more serious about it this summer because Centenary went on NCAA probation in May and cannot play in any postseason games this season.

"I felt like it was a good decision for me to go to a small Division I school coming out of high school," Adams said. "But I kept getting better and better. If I play with better players I felt like I would have a better opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament. Looking at Pitt, I like the team chemistry. I felt like it was a good fit for me. I saw them play on TV a lot and I liked the coaching style."

Adams is a Baltimore native and played on an AAU team with Pitt senior shooting guard Jermaine Dixon during their high school days.

Under NCAA rules, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is not allowed to comment on Adams until he is enrolled in school.