Is Young the Elite Scorer Pitt Has Always Needed?

While Pitt raced to its first nationally televised victory of the 2008-09 season, ESPN's broadcasting crew mentioned something that I've been talking about for years: The reason Pitt basketball has not made the Elite 8 and more is because of the lack of an elite scorer to carry the Panthers through March.

Is Sam Young the man to fill that need? He sure looks like it. And if Young isn't 100 percent the man, DeJuan Blair helps out a lot, too. To be competitive, Pitt has to keep quality offensive teams in check. But this year's team, more so than any of others in recent history, can fill it up easier and compete with offensively efficient programs.

(In fact, nothing has validated that change more than Pitt's shifting gears early in the season, beating up-tempo Texas Tech, 80-67, and slow-down, drag-out Washington State, 57-43.)

There are three reasons Pitt will have an easier time scoring this year: (1) Better, more mobile post players (Blair, Tyrell Biggs), (2) a great transition game sparked by Blair's impressive outlet passing and usually led by creative point guard Levance Fields and (3) Sam Young.

Young has been an elite scorer for some time now, but national analysts are only just picking that up. His 6-6 frame is muscular and rugged. And with the 6-8 Biggs emerging as a quality starter in the post, Young can finally roam all areas of the floor. Young operated almost entirely along the baseline, in the paint and in transition as a freshman and sophomore. Last year, he extended his game to about 20 feet, and expanded his repertoire of moves to the basket. This year, he has only improved those parts of his game.

His ball-handling still needs work, but Young's game right now is elite enough to score in bunches. He can step out for 3s, drop some mid-range knowledge, throw down in traffic, flip a floater over a taller defender, bang around inside for a putback or baby J, or dunk on your entire program in transition.

Dude averages 20 points in 29 minutes a game. He has taken over several contests, too. He has only been held to single-digit points once, and that was in Pitt's mauling of D-II school Indiana (Pa.), when coach Jamie Dixon limited his starters' minutes. Young has scored 20-plus points four times and 30-plus once. He's shooting 36 percent from 3 and 52 percent from the field. Not bad for a guy who takes 15 shots a game, including more than four 3s.

Simply put, the common knock on Pitt for all these years has been the same one: The Panthers can't score when they need to, and elite opponents will find a way to be efficient against Pitt's stifling D. When they meet a marquee opponent in the Tournament -- or (ahem) teams like Pacific, Kent State or Bradley -- that can withstand the defensive pressure enough to be remotely efficient, the Panthers struggle mightily. And while defense and rebounding are still the two main attributes of Pitt's dominant start to the 2008-09 season, it's lazy of reporters and commentators to just assume that it's the same old, same old.

Pitt can score this year. And it can rebound. And it still has one of the nation's most efficient defenses. But, surprise, surprise, its offense is third in the country in maximizing offensive possessions. So, how are the Panthers doing it? Limiting their turnovers, getting defensive rebounds, shooting well and getting the ball to Sam Young.

So, while it's still early and Tournament pairings always take precedence over individual teams and their abilities, this Pitt team has the elite scorer it needs to break the Sweet 16 curse. And it will be fun watching the Panthers try to reach that goal.

Other thoughts
-- UTEP handled its business at home against Texas Tech, winning, 96-78. I'd say that of John Calipari's two former players who now coach, UTEP's Tony Barbee is winning this year's battle.

-- I complained about it yesterday, but Cincinnati and Mississippi State match up tonight on ESPN 2. It'll be fun for some people to see Mississippi State's Jarvis Varnado for the first time.

-- Ole Miss is at No. 9 Louisville at 9. That'll be on ESPN. Ole Miss might have some distractions, though. The 'Ville still needs a reliable point guard. I've seen flashes from Edgar Sosa, but never enough consistency.

-- I'm sorry, but Mark Teixeira is not worth $20 million a year. In fact, I don't think anyone's services in any profession are worth $20 million. Just throwing that out there.