Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Jermaine Dixon Breaks His Foot

Just a few weeks ago, Pittsburgh had to suspend Gilbert Brown for the fall semester because of academic problems. Now they find out that shooting guard Jermaine Dixon has broken his foot and will be out a minimum of 8 weeks. Dixon, the one returning starter from last season, was expected to start alongside Ashton Gibbs in the backcourt this coming season. Brad Wannamaker will be a capable starter for the time being, but Pitt's backcourt bench will be very thin until Dixon comes back. Their first guard off the bench is expected to actually be Travon Woodall, with his 17 career collegiate points.

The worry is also that this is the second time that Dixon has broken that foot in less than a year, which suggests that this might potentially be a problem that he'll have to deal with all season. Although even if he's only out 9-10 weeks, it could mean problems for a team that seems destined to be a bubble team and cannot afford a bad out-of-conference resume.

Pitt spends November playing a bunch of potentially dangerous mid-majors, any of whom can do damage to what will be a very, very young and inexperienced Panthers squad. Their first test will be on November 17th at the CBE Classic, against a dangerous Binghamton team. They then play Eastern Kentucky, Wichita State and then either Texas or Iowa. You have to figure that Texas is going to blow away the field at that tournament, and a loss to them will not look bad on Pitt's resume, but they've got to be sure that Texas is their only loss. Their next test will be December 2nd against a Duquesne team that is always giving Pitt troubles.

The time it takes Dixon to recover, and whether he's able to stay healthy, will both be very important factors in Pitt's chances at returning to the NCAA Tournament in 2010.

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