Today, we continue to rank the careers of all of the 67 basketball players ever to suit up for Jamie Dixon. As a reminder, here's the drill. Editor Anson Whaley, contributor Jim Hammett, and myself ranked each player and our composite results are displayed.
Before we get started, we employed a few main rules here:
1. Only the Pitt portion of a player's career counted - Khem Birch played less than a season with Pitt. While he was a productive college player elsewhere, the fact that he spent so little time with the Panthers showed in our rankings.
2. Only the time a player spent under Dixon counted - A player like Julius Page, for example, would rank higher, but he spent only his senior year under Dixon.
3. Best career, not best player - This isn't about determining the best player under Dixon. It's more about who had the best career at Pitt under Dixon. Steven Adams may be a better basketball player than several of the guys on the list but he only played at Pitt for a year and has certainly developed more in the NBA since then.
As we go through this list, we want to hear from you about players slotted too high, too low, or even the ones you think we got right. I've organized the rankings and would love to hear from you on Twitter as well @AronMinkoff.
| No. 8 Aaron Gray |
Position: Center Games Played: 113 Year(s) under Dixon: 2003-2007 MPG: 20.9 PPG: 9.8 RPG: 7 APG: 1.3
Cardiac Hill Rankings Aron Minkoff: 8 Jim Hammett: 8 Anson Whaley: 7 Average Ranking: 7.7 Gray frustrated many in the early part of his career, but all three of us agree that he deserves a spot in the Top 10.
Gray nearly averaged a double-double over his final two years with 13.9 points and ten rebounds per game, and was one of the the top big men to play for Dixon. Also in those final two seasons, he led the Big East in total rebounds.
His upperclassmen seasons led to a number of awards. As a junior, he was the Big East's Most Improved Player and First-Team All-Conference. As a senior, he was also a third-team All-American selection, proving to be one of the better big men in all of college basketball. Following that year, he went on to a nice NBA career after being drafted in the second round. |
| No. 7 Brad Wanamaker |
Position: Guard Games Played: 134 Year(s) under Dixon: 2007-2011 MPG: 23.6 PPG: 8.1 RPG: 3.9 APG: 3.4
Cardiac Hill Rankings Aron Minkoff: 6 Jim Hammett: 9 Anson Whaley: 8 Average Ranking: 7.7
When you talk about all-around players, Brad Wanamaker is certainly near the top of the list under Dixon. He became one of the team's top scoring options, was able to distribute the ball, and an above-average rebounder as a guard.
He was the gritty, Philadelphia kid who embodied that city's tough, Rocky-like attitude. By the time he graduated, there was virtually nothing on the basketball court that he couldn’t do. He never excelled in any one area, but was capable in just about everything. That's evidenced by his final two years when he averaged 12 points, more than five rebounds, and nearly five assists per game. He also contributed defensively with 1.3 steals per game over those seasons.
Following his Pitt career, Wanamaker went undrafted and has played well in the NBDL and overseas. |
| No. 6 Ashton Gibbs |
Position: Guard Games Played: 137 Year(s) under Dixon: 2008-2012 MPG: 28 PPG: 12.8 RPG: 2 APG: 1.9
Cardiac Hill Rankings Aron Minkoff: 7 Jim Hammett: 7 Anson Whaley: 3 Average Ranking: 5.7 Gibbs was one of the top shooters under Dixon and finishes just outside of our Top 5. He was a three-year standout and one of the best scorers in the Howland-Dixon era, averaging more than 15 points per game over his sophomore, junior, and senior seasons. He was a lackluster ballhandler and wasn't known for creating his own shot very much, but he was one of the deadliest spot shooters in Pitt history.
He could rank even higher if not for a somewhat disappointing senior season where his field-goal percentage dropped to a career-low 38%. Despite playing more minutes, Gibbs still averaged fewer points, rebounds, and assists than he had as a junior. And as a whole, there really wasn't much outside of shooting that Gibbs did. Overall, however, he was still one of the top scorers in Pitt history and that means he has to finish high on our list. |
