# 2009–10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team

The 2009–10 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Jamie Dixon, who was in his 7th year as head coach at Pittsburgh and 11th overall at the University. The team played its home games in the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and were members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 13–5 in Big East play and lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Big East men's basketball tournament. They received an at–large bid to the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, earning a 3 seed in the West Region. They defeated 14 seed Oakland in the first round before losing to 6 seed and AP No. 25 Xavier in the second round.

## Outlook

The Pittsburgh Panthers advanced to last season's NCAA Elite Eight. The team lost four starters, including NBA draft selections Sam Young and DeJuan Blair, along with point guard Levance Fields and forward/center Tyrell Biggs. Guard Jermaine Dixon was the only returning starter from last season's squad while projected starter Gilbert Brown was suspended for the fall semester for academic reasons, although he reenrolled and returned to the team in December. Four freshman joined the Panthers, including McDonald's High School All-American Dante Taylor. Also new to the team was senior guard Chase Adams, a transfer from Centenary College of Louisiana. The Panthers' roster was the most inexperienced in the Big East, with six freshmen, two sophomores and only two seniors, and when Dixon went down with a foot injury in the offseason, ruling him out until well into December, the remaining roster had a total of one career start.
The Panthers were selected to finish 9th in the Big East by the Big East coaches during their conference media day.

## Coaching staff

| Name | Position | Year at Pittsburgh | Alma Mater (Year) |
| Jamie Dixon | Head coach | 11th (7th as head coach) | TCU (1987) |
| Tom Herrion | Associate head coach | 3rd | Merrimack (1989) |
| Pat Sandle | Assistant coach | 9th | San Francisco State (1987) |
| Brandin Knight | Assistant coach | 4th | University of Pittsburgh (2005) |
| Brian Regan | Director of Operations | 3rd | Saint Vincent (1988) |
| Rasheen Davis | Video Coordinator | 2nd | St. Thomas Aquinas (2005) |

## Recruiting

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Lamar Patterson small forward | Lancaster, Pennsylvania | St. Benedict's Prep/J.P. McCaskey H.S. | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Dec 28, 2007 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 ||||||
| J. J. Richardson center/power forward | Missouri City, Texas | Fort Bend Hightower HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 232.5 lb (105.5 kg) | Sep 16, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89 ||||||
| Dante Taylor power forward | Greenburgh, New York | National Christian Academy, MD | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 222.5 lb (100.9 kg) | Jul 14, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 ||||||
| Talib Zanna center/power forward | Kaduna, Nigeria | Bishop McNamara HS, MD | 6 ft 8.5 in (2.04 m) | 222.5 lb (100.9 kg) | Sep 29, 2008 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 90 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 15 Rivals: 25 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Pittsburgh Commit List for 2009". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 2, 2009. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved November 2, 2009. "Pittsburgh Basketball Recruiting 2009". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 2, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 2, 2009. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 2, 2009. ||||||

## Roster

| Name | # | Position | Height | Weight (lb.) | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Chase Adams | 3 | Guard | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 190 | 2Senior | Baltimore, MD | Centenary/Mount Saint Joseph HS |
| Gilbert Brown* | 5 | Guard/Forward | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 | 2Junior (RS) | Harrisburg, PA | South Kent School |
| Jermaine Dixon | 24 | Guard | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 200 | 3Senior, Transfer | Baltimore, MD | Tallahassee CC/Maine Central Inst/Blake HS |
| Tim Frye | 44 | Guard | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 205 | 2Junior | Mars, PA | Mars Area HS |
| Ashton Gibbs | 12 | Guard | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 | 1Sophomore | Scotch Plains, NJ | Seton Hall Prep |
| Gary McGhee | 52 | Center | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 250 | 2Junior | Anderson, IN | Highland HS |
| Dwight Miller | 25 | Forward | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 240 | 1Freshman (RS) | Nassau, Bahamas | St. Pius X HS |
| Lamar Patterson | 21 | Guard/Forward | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 220 | 1Freshman | Lancaster, PA | St. Benedict's Prep/J.P. McCaskey H.S. |
| J. J. Richardson | 55 | Forward | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 235 | 1Freshman | Missouri City, TX | Fort Bend Hightower HS |
| Nick Rivers | 14 | Guard | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 | 1Junior | Phoenix, AZ | Brophy College Prep |
| Nasir Robinson | 35 | Forward | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 220 | 1Sophomore | Chester, PA | Chester HS |
| Dante Taylor | 11 | Forward | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 240 | 1Freshman | Greenburgh, NY | National Christian Academy (MD) |
| Brad Wanamaker | 22 | Guard | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 210 | 2Junior | Philadelphia, PA | Roman Catholic HS |
| Travon Woodall | 1 | Guard | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 190 | 1Freshman (RS) | Brooklyn, NY | St. Anthony HS |
| Talib Zanna | 42 | Forward | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 | 1Freshman | Kaduna, Nigeria | Bishop McNamara HS (MD) |
*Suspended for the fall semester for academic reasons, but re-enrolled and returned to the team in December.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Sun. Nov. 1* 4:00 pm | | Slippery Rock | W 75–64 | — | Petersen Events Center (5,815) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sun. Nov. 8* 4:00 pm | | Coker | W 83–40 | — | Petersen Events Center (6,103) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Regular season ||||||
| Fri. Nov. 13* 8:10 pm | | Wofford | W 63–60 | 1–0 | Petersen Events Center (10,112) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Tue. Nov. 17* 5:30 pm, ESPN2 | | Binghamton CBE Classic | W 71–46 | 2–0 | Petersen Events Center (7,677) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Thu. Nov. 19* 7:00 pm | | Eastern Kentucky CBE Classic | W 71–60 | 3–0 | Petersen Events Center (9,148) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Mon. Nov. 23* 7:37 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Wichita State CBE Classic Semifinal | W 68–55 | 4–0 | Sprint Center Kansas City, MO |
| Tue. Nov. 24* 10:25 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 3 Texas CBE Classic Championship | L 62–78 | 4–1 | Sprint Center (8,076) Kansas City, MO |
| Sat. Nov. 28* 12:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh | | Youngstown State | W 72–56 | 5–1 | Petersen Events Center (10,135) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Wed. Dec. 2* 7:00 pm, CBS College Sports | | vs. Duquesne The City Game | W 67–58 | 6–1 | Mellon Arena (12,336) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Fri. Dec. 4* 7:00 pm | | New Hampshire | W 47–32 | 7–1 | Petersen Events Center (8,856) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Tue. Dec. 8* 9:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. Indiana Jimmy V Classic | L 64–74 | 7–2 | Madison Square Garden (8,975) New York, NY |
| Sat. Dec. 12* 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | Kent State | W 71–59 | 8–2 | Petersen Events Center (9,468) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Dec. 19* 4:00 pm | | Mount St. Mary's | W 66–48 | 9–2 | Petersen Events Center (7,039) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Tue. Dec. 22* 7:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh | | Ohio | W 74–49 | 10–2 | Petersen Events Center (9,261) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Mon. Dec. 28 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | DePaul | W 65–52 | 11–2 (1–0) | Petersen Events Center (10,811) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Jan. 2 12:00 pm, ESPN Regional/WTAE-TV | | at No. 5 Syracuse | W 82–72 | 12–2 (2–0) | Carrier Dome (24,969) Syracuse, NY |
| Mon. Jan. 4 7:00 pm, ESPN Big Monday | No. 23 | at Cincinnati | W 74–71 | 13–2 (3–0) | Fifth Third Arena (8,699) Cincinnati, OH |
| Wed. Jan. 13 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | at No. 15 Connecticut | W 67–57 | 14–2 (4–0) | XL Center (15,290) Hartford, CT |
| Sat. Jan. 16 12:00 pm, ESPN Regional/WTAE-TV | No. 16 | Louisville | W 82–77 $^{OT}$ | 15–2 (5–0) | Petersen Events Center (12,781) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Wed. Jan. 20 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 9 | No. 12 Georgetown | L 66–74 | 15–3 (5–1) | Petersen Events Center (12,677) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sun. Jan. 24 2:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh | No. 9 | at Seton Hall | L 61–64 | 15–4 (5–2) | Prudential Center (8,043) Newark, NJ |
| Thu. Jan. 28 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 17 | St. John's | W 63–53 | 16–4 (6–2) | Petersen Events Center (12,511) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sun. Jan. 31 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 17 | at South Florida | L 61–70 | 16–5 (6–3) | USF Sun Dome (5,370) Tampa, FL |
| Wed. Feb. 3 7:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh | No. 22 | at No. 6 West Virginia Backyard Brawl | L 51–70 | 16–6 (6–4) | WVU Coliseum (15,419) Morgantown, WV |
| Sat. Feb. 6 6:00 pm | No. 22 | Seton Hall | W 83–58 | 17–6 (7–4) | Petersen Events Center (6,681) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Mon. Feb. 8* 8:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh | No. 25 | Robert Morris | W 77–53 | 18–6 | Petersen Events Center (7,211) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Fri. Feb. 12 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | No. 5 West Virginia Backyard Brawl | W 98–95 $^{3OT}$ | 19–6 (8–4) | Petersen Events Center (12,902) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Thu. Feb. 18 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 19 | at Marquette | W 58–51 | 20–6 (9–4) | Bradley Center (16,486) Milwaukee, WI |
| Sun. Feb. 21 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 19 | No. 3 Villanova | W 70–65 | 21–6 (10–4) | Petersen Events Center (12,920) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Wed. Feb. 24 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 12 | at Notre Dame | L 53–68 | 21–7 (10–5) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,581) Notre Dame, IN |
| Sat. Feb. 27 12:00 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh | No. 12 | at St. John's | W 71–64 | 22–7 (11–5) | Madison Square Garden (6,892) New York, NY |
| Thu. Mar. 4 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | Providence | W 73–71 | 23–7 (12–5) | Petersen Events Center (12,511) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Mar. 6 4:30 pm, ESPN Regional/FSN Pittsburgh | No. 17 | Rutgers | W 83–54 | 24–7 (13–5) | Petersen Events Center (12,508) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| Thu. Mar. 11 7:00 pm, ESPN | (2) No. 16 | vs. (7) Notre Dame Big East Quarterfinals | L 45–50 | 24–8 | Madison Square Garden (19,375) New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Fri. Mar. 19 3:05 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 18 | vs. (14 W) Oakland NCAA First Round | W 89–66 | 25–8 | Bradley Center (17,847) Milwaukee, WI |
| Sun. Mar. 21 4:50 pm, CBS | (3 W) No. 18 | vs. (6 W) No. 25 Xavier NCAA Second Round | L 68–71 | 25–9 | Bradley Center (18,031) Milwaukee, WI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=NCAA West Regional. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking Movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. rv=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | WK 17 | Wk 18 | Final |
| AP | rv | rv | rv | rv | rv | rv | rv | -- | 23 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 19 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 18 | n/a |
| Coaches | rv | rv | rv | rv | -- | -- | -- | -- | rv | 20 | 11 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 20 |

## Accomplishments

* Pitt achieved a school record ninth straight 20-win season and a school record ninth straight season with 10 wins in the Big East Conference.
* Sophomore guard Ashton Gibbs was named Second-Team All-Big East.
* Ashton Gibbs was named the Big East's most improved player.
* Ninth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.