Ray Fittipaldo: Welcome to the Pitt basketball chat. Fire away...

Fantastico: Hey Ray, Gary McGhee's improvement has been a nice surprise to me. It is not a Aaron Grayesque but it is quite noticible that he has improved especially on D. Are you very surprised or is this almost expected with Dixon as his coach and the "Big East Most Improved Player"awards his staff has racked up recently?

Ray Fittipaldo: I am a bit surprised. Quite frankly, McGhee did not do much during his first two seasons for anyone to expect much out of him this season. He had a nice start and has leveled off some in recent games. He needs to pick his play back up if the Panthers are going to have success during the Big East schedule.

the ghost of the stache: Do you think the lineup at the end of yesterday's game (Gibbs, Bradley, Dixon, Brown and Taylor) will be the starting lineup by the end of the year?

Ray Fittipaldo: That's a good question. I would say definitely for four of the five you mentioned. Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker and Jermaine Dixon are for certain starters the rest of the way. I think Gilbert Brown assumes the starting position at power forward in a game or two. He played 23 minutes last night and appears to be getting in better shape every time out. The only question mark is Taylor for Gary McGhee. I just don't get the feeling that Taylor is all that close to unseating McGhee. It could happen by the end of the season, but Taylor is going to have to become more consistent. It was a good sign for Taylor last night that he played the crucial minutes at the end. McGhee did not play well last night. Bottom line: the coaching staff has to get more production out of the center position than they have been getting recently.

Fantastico: Okay Ray, I know it's tough for any freshman to immediately make an impact, but with all the hype surrounding Dante Taylor(and D. Blair spoiling us Pitt fans), should we expect more? or is he right we you thought he would be?

Ray Fittipaldo: I was expecting more, but maybe I was wrong to assume that he would be someone who could make an immediate impact. I did a story about a week ago about this year's crop of forwards and centers who played in the 2009 McDonald's All-American game. Taylor was slightly above average when compared to his peers. One also must consider that DeJuan Blair was playing with some special surrounding talent when he arrived at Pitt as a freshman. Taylor has considerably less talent around him. Do not underestimate that. Also, Jamie Dixon keeps preaching that it takes some post players time to develop. Taylor is looking like one of those players who needs time to get used to his role.

Send It In, Jerome!: I was shocked at how many fans attended the Ohio game masquerading as empty seats. From TV camera shots, the Pete's lower sections appeared to be 80% empty, perhaps more. An anomaly due to the game being close to Christmas? Or a new trend, due to either (a) the bad economy, and/or (b) fans voting with their wallets to express unhappiness with on-court product?

Ray Fittipaldo: An anomaly due to Christmas and bad weather is my opinion. Now, it will be interesting to see how loyal the Pitt season ticket holders are if the Panthers lose four or five in a row this season and are not in contention for an NCAA tournament berth in February. The loyalty of the fans has not been tested in eight seasons, the number of consecutive years the Panthers have made the NCAA tournament.

Gino: Hey Ray...saw a good bit of JJ Richardson last night...any insight as to why? Looked like he and McGhee were rotating in the first half as opposed to Taylor.

Ray Fittipaldo: Dante Taylor picked up two early fouls and Dixon sat him for the remainder of the first half. I would not read much into it. Richardson has shown that he will come in and play hard, but he is not someone who will be pushing Taylor and McGhee for minutes. Dixon is not afraid to use him when he must. Richardson came in the game against No. 2 Texas under similar circumstances and did reasonably well. He made a nice play last night when he saved the ball from going out of bounds and found Travon Woodall for a basket. He can play well in limited minutes, I believe. I do not want to see him for more than 5-7 minutes a game, though.

the ghost of the stache: Do you get the feeling that Pitt fans are being too critical about the team this year? I read and hear about how terrible the team is and the lack of talent. But I say the team lost tons of production, had two starters out for almost the entire non-conference scedule, and still only has 2 losses. I think Pitt is actually in good position right now.

Ray Fittipaldo: The Panthers are in good position for now, but the upcoming stretch of games will tell us a lot about how this team will be this season. Starting with No. 5 Syracuse on Saturday, Pitt plays three ranked teams in its next five games. The next three are on the road. After Syracuse, the Panthers go to Cincinnati, which was ranked earlier in the season. Then, after a nine-day break, it's off to No. 10 Connecticut. After that, it's two home games against Louisville and No. 13 Georgetown. Let's see what kind of position they'll be in after that.

Fantastico: Say Ray, Nas Robinson is a tenacious player that leaves nothing on the court. However, his lack of finishing and seemingly hands of stone are just painful to watch. Do you believe he will remain a role player throughout his career or could he be the next project Dixon and staff overhaul to higher levels?

Ray Fittipaldo: Tough to say. At this point, it appears he is suited better to be a role player. But one has to take into consideration that Robinson, who is 6 feet 5, feels like he is playing out of position at power forward. He wants to play small forward. However, the coaching staff does not feel like his ball handling or outside shot are good enough for him to make the switch at the moment. Judging from his performance through the first two months of the season, he has a long way to go before he will convince the staff that he can play small forward.

stewart l: I must admit, I'm surprised how well Mcghee has played. I'm also quite dismayed by Dante Taylor's poor showing thus far. He seems to be getting worse. What's the scoop with him, he definitely doesn't look comfortable when he receives the ball

Ray Fittipaldo: He is a freshman who is learning on the run. Jamie Dixon and his staff continue to say that he is coming along just fine. He also is playing out of position. He is a natural power forward who is playing center because Pitt needs a backup center. He did not play much with his back to the basket in high school, so he is learning how to be a center. It takes time.

Send It In, Jerome!: Did you happen to see that Sam Young made NBA Network's #1 play of the day (one day) last week? A monster sky-walking wind-up dunk, I forget against whom. Sheesh, I miss that guy in a blue -n- gold uniform.

Ray Fittipaldo: I did catch a SportsCenter highlight when Young did a windmill jam. He has been playing more and more for Memphis. DeJuan Blair has been doing well for the Spurs as well. It's been a good year for former Panthers in the NBA, which of course helps with recruiting. High school kids want to know a coach can get them to the NBA and now there is evidence of that. Before this season there was scant evidence of that outside of Aaron Gray, who has been OK for his first few years in the league.

the ghost of the stache: Any word on Patterson being redshirted?

Ray Fittipaldo: I have noticed that he is not playing when Dixon empties the bench at the end of recent games. The coaching staff would have to document an injury for Patterson in order for him to get a redshirt. It's possible, too, that one of the players currently in front of him in the rotation gets injured and he would have to start playing again.

PittFan: Hey Ray, First of all I read your blog everyday on the PG+ and love it. Keep the posts coming. Also I'd just like to say how good Pitt looked last night and how excited I am to see them play agaisn't the best the Big East has to offer these coming weeks. Even though this is supposed to be a "down" year for us we are still 11-2, I bet Ben Howland at UCLA would love to be 11-2 right now.

Ray Fittipaldo: Very true. It's been a tough year for Howland at UCLA. There is something to be said for winning the games you are supposed to. Pitt very easily could have lost the opener to Wofford and the game against Duquesne. We would have a completely different view of the season if the Panthers were 9-4 right now.

Send It In, Jerome!: Great article by Ron Cook in today's on-line P-G. Do you still see Pitt winning seven BEast games? I truly hope you're right, but ??? looking at their schedule vs. level of play ??? I harbor grave doubts. And I'm a Pitt homer and hopeless optomist!

Ray Fittipaldo: It's tough to find those wins when you look at the schedule. You have to bank on Pitt beating St. John's twice, South Florida, Rutgers. There's five wins. Maybe you concede a split with Seton Hall, there's six wins. The you have to find a few more. Maybe the Panthers can catch Cincinnati on a bad night Monday night, or beat Louisville at home. Louisville has struggled some this season. And maybe you pull an upset or two. I am neither a Pitt homer or eternal optimist and I certainly can see where fans have grave doubts about this team. It's going to be interesting to watch over the next few weeks. That's for sure.

Fantastico: O'tay Ray, Another puplication listed Knight, Page, Blair, Troutman, Young as the All-Decade Pitt Team. Who would be your starting 5? Oh yeah, Jaron Brown was the first reserve.

Ray Fittipaldo: Putting me on the spot there with little time to think about it. Blair has to be the center. You can't go wrong with Knight or Levance FIelds at the point. Young has to be the small forward. Troutman is a pretty solid pick at power forward. And I guess Page would get the nod at shooting guard. He was a four-year starter and a great defender. Pitt has had better offensive players at that position, but Page was probably the best all-around player...Who should be the coach? Howland or Dixon???

Gino: I think Ashton Gibbs' experience with the under-19 team has been invaluable to this young Pitt team. He has clearly been more assertive with the ball than last year and his shot speaks for itself. I think we are watching the next big star at Pitt emerging before our eyes.

Ray Fittipaldo: Yeah, I keep waiting for an opponent to shut him down, but he keeps putting up great numbers. It does not seem to matter that he is not great at creating his own shot. He counts on his teammates to set screens. That's not a problem because the Panthers are well-schooled and know how to get him open. I don't think he'll continue at his current pace for the rest of the season, but it's obvious to me that he is going to be the team's leading scorer at season's end.

Send It In, Jerome!: Math quiz for sportswriters: Hypothetical, Pitt uses the DePaul game as a springboard to go on a run of upsets thru their early BEast sked, wins x straight games to be ranked for the first time. Solve for x. In other words, how many games must they win over the upcoming 'Murerer's Row' to be ranked?

Ray Fittipaldo: Let's say they lose at Syracuse, beat Cincy, lost to Connecticut but rebound with home wins versus Louisville and Georgetown. That would get them ranked. But if you only beat unranked Cincy and Louisville, I don't know if that gets the job done...If I'm Jamie Dixon I'm not worried about being ranked. I'm worried about losing five in a row. This is a very difficult stretch for a young team.

Ray Fittipaldo: OK folks, time for me to get back to work and do some writing. I'm writing about the upcoming stretch of games in tomorrow's paper so be sure to check it out. We'll do it again next week.

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