dancing again: Hi Ray, with the last few wins, does this look a team that we should now expect to make the big dance?

Ray Fittipaldo: Good question. Presuming Pitt needs 10 Big East wins to get to the NCAA tournament that mans that the Panthers only have to win 7 of their final 15 league games. I would say that is quite doable. Getting the two wins at Syracuse and at Cincinnati are huge for this young team. There will be some rough patches the rest of the way because of the youth, but they left themselves some room for error by winning the first three games. They are in great shape moving forward as far as the NCAA tournament goes.

Send It In, Jerome!: How are things today at the P-G's battalion aid station? Must be lotsa cuts and scrapes, what with folks scrambling to climb back on the Pitt hoops bandwagon.

Ray Fittipaldo: It's a great start for Pitt and a lot of people are surprised, including me. Even tough Jamie Dixon owns Jim Boeheim I was not expecting Pitt to go up to Syracuse and win this year considering the circumstances ... Syracuse being No. 5, Pitt being unranked and finding themselves. Jamie Dixon did not need any validation for being a great coach, but the job he is doing this season is certainly enhancing his reputation around the country. Once again, not that it needed enhancing.

BobL: McGhee looked like a liability on the court last night. How soon until we see Taylor getting the majority minutes, and any chance Richardson plays more off the bench?

Ray Fittipaldo: I wrote on PG Plus on Sunday that a change might be forthcoming for the Connecticut game. I think Brown moves ahead of Robinson on the depth chart at power forward and Taylor moves head of McGhee. It's only a matter of time and why not do it when you have eight days between games? The only reason it might not happen now is that the Panthers have won three in a row with Brown and Taylor coming off the bench, so Dixon might not want to change things around. But it's only a matter of time. McGhee does not have a good set of hands, cannot grab offensive rebounds and has not scored in double figures since the Duquesne game. He does play decent defense, but that alone might not be enough for him to retain his starting status.

Send It In, Jerome!: Ashton Gibbs at PG, Jermaine Dixon at SG, Gilbert Brown at SF, Dante Taylor at PF, and Gary McGee at C. If Pitt's stated goal is getting the best five players on the court, then how is this not Pitt's starting roster? Of course I'm taking position into account: some guys must be skilled to dribble against a press, while some must be tall enough to rebound in the paint.

Ray Fittipaldo: The only problem with that is Dixon has shown no inclination to play McGhee and Taylor together. For one, he does not want Taylor learning two positions. And No. 2, it would be a defensive liability to have those two on the floor at the same time. Also, you're saying McGhee is better than Brad Wanamaker, which I'm not sure I agree with. Wanamaker is frustrating for fans because of his problems with consistency and turning the ball over, but he has shown that he can score in bunches when he is on. He's going through a bad stretch now, but he is someone who can score. McGhee has not shown that he can be a viable offensive threat for this team.

GhostofSamYoung: Have you changed your generally pessimistic view of this team over the last week or does Gil Brown need to dunk over YOU?

Ray Fittipaldo: I am quite optimistic after watching this team win three in a row to start league play. How can one not be? But I am sure I was not in the minority when I held a pessimistic point of view after the Indiana game. And I certainly was someone who always pointed out how this team would be different with Jermaine Dixon and Gilbert Brown. So far, things are great. The only thing that is holding me back from being really excited about this team is the lack of inside scoring presence. Eventually, Ashton Gibbs and the guards are going to have an off night. Are McGhee and Taylor good enough to take over a game when that happens?

Send It In, Jerome!: Is Gilbert Brown tall-enough and beefy-enough ("listed" at 6'-6) to play PF effectively in the rugged Big East? Wouldn't GB be far more effective -- thus the team better off -- if he was free to use his rangy skills at SF? Then Pitt could use any number of taller and more ruggedly-built guys to do the dirty work inherent of a PF: bang around inside, get down-low rebounds and put-back points, and so on.

Ray Fittipaldo: This team has one natural power forward who is capable of playing in the Big East. His name is Dante Taylor, who is playing center because the team needs him there more. Brown is in his fourth year in the program and is very versatile. I think he is savvy enough to play power forward, although his fouls are something to keep an eye on as the season progresses. He is picking up a lot of fouls and having to come out of games, and that's not good. Pitt needs him on the floor for 25-30 minutes a game.

dancing again: Did the return of Brown and Dixon mean this much to the team? It seems almost comical that this team is 3-0 in the BE after some scrapes with the Woffords and Duquesnes of the world.

Ray Fittipaldo: Yes. It's not only their presence in games but in practices. They are two veteran players who understand what Jamie Dixon wants. Dixon could talk until he was blue in the face in November, but if those young players were not hearing it and more importantly seeing it from the leaders on the team then it was not getting through to them. Looking back, how important are those comebacks against Wofford and Duquesne now. Pitt is in great shape because it found a way to win those games. If Pitt makes the NCAA tournament we'll look back on those games really important wins.

Send It In, Jerome!: In honor of Jamie Dixon having removed their freshman year from the freshmen, I'm following his example by stripping away my 40s, going back to my 30s. Is such time-travel permissible under NCAA rules? On a related question, would this allow him to strip away senior HS years too, thus bringing in (say) Mo Walker this year?

Ray Fittipaldo: That, I believe, would be an NCAA violation. But once again I will ask the question of all of you. How good would this team be with DeJuan Blair? The answer is really good. Maybe Elite Eight good. Maybe Final Four good. Ahh, we can dream can't we?

Send It In, Jerome!: I literally cringe every time I see Brad Wanamaker or Nasir Robinson trying to move with the ball. Looking at the bright side, at least they're "creative" with it: I've seen some very unique varieties of turnovers. Are coaches working with them to improve their ball-handling skills?

Ray Fittipaldo: Of course, but they're also working with Robinson and McGhee on their free throws, too. Sometimes, players have deficiencies and as a coach you have to work around them. It's a Catch 22. Wanamaker is at his best in the open floor when he can drive the lane and get to the basket. He scores quite a few of his points in transition. He also turns the ball over quite a bit in those same situations. I truly believe Robinson can be an effective player for this team in 15 minutes a game. If you put him out there more than you're asking for turnovers and miscues.

tiger paul: Pardon me, but I can't seem to get on the 'Gary McGhee is much improved' bandwagon. He has no hands, misses too many lay-ups and free throws and falls a sleep on defense- What am I missing??

Ray Fittipaldo: I believe the 'Gary McGhee is much improved' bandwagon was rolling along in late November when he was piling up double-doubles and generally playing well. He is going through a rough stretch. Pitt does not need him to be DeJuan Blair, but he can't be Doyle Hudson either.

JamieForPresident: If you had your choice, would you want Ben or Jamie as head coach now?

Ray Fittipaldo: Jamie Dixon without a doubt. He has proven to be just as good an Xs and Os coach as Howland and he wants to be at Pitt. Howland was California dreaming as soon as things turned sour at UCLA and it was apparent that Steve lavin would be canned.

dancing again: Ray, I hate the idea of ranking teams so early in the season. I can't even see a legitimate poll until middle of January. Is ranking so important to everyone that we need a preseason ranking of untested teams? It seems to hurt more teams in my opinion, especially if expectations were too high.

Ray Fittipaldo: The polls are done for fans. Franky, it draws interest to the sport. That's not a bad thing. It's the same as people on ESPN and SI.com doing power ranking for the NFL and NHL. Who really cares until the playoffs? That's when we see which teams are the best. The same is true for college basketball. The polls are harmless. I don't see how it damages a team. It's positive publicity to be ranked. If you fall out, you have to work hard to get back in. If you're not good enough to get back in, then you're not deserving of the ranking and won't be in the NCAA tournament anyway.

Send It In, Jerome!: Slightly re-phased math quiz for sportswriters (borrowed from last week): Hypothetical, Pitt uses the DePaul game as a springboard to go on a run of upsets thru their early BEast schedule, wins x league games in a row. Solve for x. Hint: we're at three and counting. If they make it to four by beating UConn in Storrs, this could be the cusp of a wonderful season.

Ray Fittipaldo: As I wrote on PG Plus last night, if Pitt wins at Connecticut next week, we should just hand Jamie Dixon the Big East coach of the year award in a postgame ceremony. This is a team that was picked to finish ninth in the league, folks. I know there is work to be done, but Syracuse was fifth in the country and Cincy is expected to be in the upper tier of the conference.

Jack: I was happy to see Jamie Dixon finally switch up defenses. It got Cincy out of their rhythm. Has Jamie Dixon commented on doing this more? Or possibly a 3-2?

Ray Fittipaldo: He has done it in a few games, but only when the man-to-man is not getting the job done. That was the case last night. I am sure it was not in the game plan to allow Cincy to shoot 49 percent. Luckily for Pitt, Ashton Gibbs and Gil Brown had outstanding games. If Pitt is playing much zone it will not be good news for this team. But I do agree, in short doses, it's good to throw a team out of whack. It's not a recipe for long-term success, though when the bedrock of your program is man-to-man defense.

BobL: The officiating at the start of the second half looked really bad to me last night. Am I an over-reacting fan or did you see the same thing?

Ray Fittipaldo: I noticed a lot of foul calls. I guess it evened out. Pitt did get to the line something like 27 times, correct? And the Panthers got to the line 36 times against Syracuse. Based on that evidence there is hardly a conspiracy theory against Pitt.

Send It In, Jerome!: Three years ago, based on then-current mediocrity trends I'dda said Pitt had doubtless become a basketball school in a football city. Thankfully, Wanny's last two years have at least restored some balance. Agree? These could be important factors if Big-10(11)(+1) offers Pitt to join: a good move for football, bad move for hoops.

Ray Fittipaldo: A potential move to the Big Ten would have everything to do with football and absolutely nothing to do with basketball. I think we all took notice when Jamie Dixon lets his feelings be known on the subject a few weeks back. It would be a bad move for the basketball program. Dixon is a good enough coach that Pitt would survive, but if you're a basketball person why do you want to take that chance? And honestly, if you're looking at it from purely a football perspective, why leave the Big East? You have a great shot at going to a BCS bowl game every year. What's that you say? It's about the money. Oh, I forgot.

tigerpaul: Given the effectivness of the zone defense- do you see Pitt using more and more this year?

Ray Fittipaldo: As I stated a few minutes ago, not unless the man-to-man is doing poorly. And Jamie Dixon has talked on more than a few occasions how this group can be very good defensively. So, as a change-up it's good. As a steady defense, it's a bad idea.

Scritdog: Is Gibbs overachieving or is he playing to the abilities that Coach Dixon expected when he recruited him? Also, do you think Gibbs could leave after this year? He looks like the best player on the court at times.

Ray Fittipaldo: Gibbs is playing great, but I don't think he has the type of athleticism NBA teams are looking for. It's safe to assume he will be at Pitt for four years, which is great if you're a fan of this team. And no, I don't think he is overachieving. He is another example of Dixon and the coaching staff taking a good player and making him very good.

brian: Ray, if you absolutely HAD to predict what player on the roster isn't gonna be here next year, who would you pick?

Ray Fittipaldo: Dwight Miller. But only because I HAD to predict one player.

Ray Fittipaldo: Thanks for participating this week. We'll do it again before next week's game against Connecticut.

Check out Ray Fittipaldo's Pitt B-Ball blog and Paul Zeise's Pitt Stop videos about football exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.