The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA

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January 2, 2008

Leadership in flux without Fields

BY DALE GRDNIC

PITTSBURGH — It’s certainly not an impossible situation, but it’s certainly going to be quite difficult for the Pitt men’s basketball team to overcome the injury to junior point guard Levance Fields.

After redshirt freshman center Austin Wallace went down a few weeks ago and senior forward Mike Cook suffered a season-ending knee injury Dec. 20, the Panthers – ranked 13th now in both The Associated Press and ESPN polls – probably would have been able to persevere.

That’s because they had a leader like Fields running the show. Now, Pitt has to look for leadership, as well as scoring to make up for the nearly 30 points that Fields and Cook combined to score each game.

Senior Ronald Ramon will move full-time to point guard, and senior Keith Benjamin – a better player off the bench thus far in his career – likely will be the shooting guard. Redshirt freshman Gilbert Brown started for Cook at small forward, while freshman center DeJuan Blair and junior forward Sam Young are the other starters.

Ramon has been battling shoulder problems the past two games and has made just one shot.

“It’s more of a leadership thing,” Ramon said. “I have to go out there and carry the team and make sure guys are in the right spots. It’s being a team. We’re going to be the same, smart team we’ve been. Nothing is going to change with us. We’re going to play the same way we’ve been playing. We just have to go out there and execute our plays and play hard.”

Ramon went through a full practice Monday without any major problems with his right (shooting) shoulder. It was dislocated early in the game Saturday at Dayton, but he returned after a brief absence.

The injury has hampered him in the past two games, as he’s just 1-for-15 shooting. Against the Flyers, Ramon clanked all eight shots from the field with six coming from 3-point range.

He probably would have been rested against Lafayatte tonight at 7 at the Petersen Events Center, but not now.

Fields had surgery Monday, and Dixon noted that the initial prognosis is good. Pitt’s floor leader is expected to return sometime late in the season, but he will be re-evaluated in a few weeks as his rehab progresses.

Cook will have surgery today.

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