Mike Young's Commitment To Pitt Fills Position Of Need

Mike Young's commitment to Pitt's 2013 class this weekend was a significant one for the Panthers. Young is a four-star recruit, but maybe even more importantly, he fills a position of need for Pitt at power forward.

Pitt will be okay there this season with Talib Zanna and Dante Taylor presumably manning the position. There's talk of moving Lamar Patterson there to give the Panthers a more athletic look, but if we're talking true power forwards here, Zanna and Taylor are the two options. After this season, Pitt gets even thinner at the spot. Taylor, is in his final season of eligibility this year and next year, Zanna was the only true forward expected to be at the spot since there weren't any 2012 recruits at the position.

Enter Young, who will be a part of Pitt's frontcourt for the season. Young will get the best of both worlds next year, as he should not only play immediately behind Zanna, but will get to learn a bit behind the senior.

Going small with Patterson would be an option and there's also the idea of sliding Steven Adams (well, if he's around for more than a season) or Malcolm Gilbert down. But with Young on board, neither is a necessity at this point for next season.

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