Pittsburgh Basketball: 5 Reasons We Can't Wait for the Panthers' 2014-15 Season

The Gregorian calendar says we are less than a week from the autumnal equinox. The NCAA calendar says, that with college football entering the fourth week of its season, fall is essentially already here.

And if fall is here, then logically we're that much closer to college basketball season. We consider that a plus.

There are certain rites of passage throughout those four or five months that can not go unappreciated. Some of them, to Pittsburgh fans who have witnessed the rebirth of their men's program, might have a "been there, done that" feel. But a little perspective never hurts.

This is our opportunity to provide that perspective. Let's take a look at a couple obvious and not-so-obvious reasons we're looking forward to watching the 2014-15 Panthers play.

1. Packing The Pete

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In the 1990s, when Ralph Willard was at the helm, the casual fan would walk into the Fitzgerald Field House on a Saturday afternoon in January and see a few thousand fans scattered throughout the bleachers, many of them toting portable television sets to watch a Steelers playoff game.

At the turn of the century, when athletic director Steve Pederson hired Ben Howland to take over the program and Jamie Dixon to assist him, then moved home games from the archaic Field House to the monumental Petersen Events Center, things changed completely. Now, if he or she is lucky, the casual fan can buy a nosebleed seat from an online ticket exchange.

With all those ills cured by all those Big East titles (with ACC titles hopefully to follow) and NCAA tournament trips, there is a thrill to be had by being in The Pete for a Pitt game, accompanied by its nationally renowned student section, the Oakland Zoo.

Bleacher Report correspondent Lance Pauker named it one of the toughest places to play in all of major college basketball, and everyone from opponents to other media outlets like USA Today have corroborated him over the years.

"This is a spectacular venue. It's the first time I've coached here and I was just really impressed with everything," Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski (whose mother, coincidentally, grew up just outside of Pittsburgh) said after an 80-65 win at The Pete Jan. 27. "It's a beautiful arena, the crowd is terrific and there's a great spirit. What an addition to the ACC. ... I was so impressed when the Star-Spangled Banner was being played with the crowd. I felt like, you know, 'Go USA!'"

For the Oakland Zoo, that's just a warm-up act. After the anthem, when the lights go off and public address announcer Joe DeStio introduces Pitt's lineup, the Zoo jumps so enthusiastically that every tier, table and laptop in Media Row quivers, quakes and bounces right along with it. In fact, they've been joined in that activity by, among other honorary members, an outgoing chancellor (Mark Nordenberg), a Stanley Cup champion hockey coach (Dan Bylsma) and a homegrown billionaire with an NBA franchise (Mark Cuban).

Furthermore, their homemade signs and player taunts have always been a laugh riot, if not a tremendous moral boost. From their larger-than-life Steven Adams cutout (complete with movable arms), to the placard that read, "Jabari Parker Listens To Nickelback" (wonder if Coach K appreciated that one?), to their paramilitary "Left, right...sit down!" chant that is belted out when someone commits his fifth foul (which came in handy during the Big East years), we'd be hard-pressed not to enjoy their good-natured antics.

That Duke contest was one of several tough home losses they had to endure last season. Still, Pitt entered the previous season with an .891 home winning percentage, one of the top 10 in Division I during that 11-year span. Home-court advantage—a palpable one, at that—has made a difference for the Panthers.

With the obvious exception of Duke and its Cameron Crazies, there aren't many other places in the conference or the country that can rival the game-day atmosphere Pitt and the Oakland Zoo have created since the state-of-the-art, multipurpose venue opened in 2002.

2. Coachspeak

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My second reason for looking forward to the new season is, admittedly, a selfish one. This may evoke a few chuckles—and maybe even a few funny looks—from readers and peers alike, but I get a kick out of listening to Jamie Dixon speak before and/or after a game.

Reporting on Pittsburgh men's basketball and football, I've had many opportunities to speak with both teams' coaches. While I always enjoy interacting with Paul Chryst, a Dixon press conference is a content machine that just keeps on churning.

Sometimes it's provocative. Sometimes it's predictable. Most times, it's somewhere in the middle. But at no time when Coach speaks have I ever left The Pete with only coachspeak to dissect.

While Chryst is more reserved toward the media (though, to his credit, he's helped his rapport by having a sense of humor about that reservedness), I could fill a standard slideshow simply by asking Dixon to elaborate on the history of toilet paper.

As a writer, it is better to have too much content to work with than not enough. Dixon and I may not agree on everything said in those press conferences, but he's always left me with plenty to ponder and always seems to have his players' backs. I respect that.

Besides, if football fans can lightheartedly jab at Chryst for his usage of "neat," it's only a matter of time before basketball fans get "#TheyreOutThereCompeting" trending on Twitter.

3. Home Cooking

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Those who pack The Pete will have a new reason to do so: They'll see a bumper crop of local talent in uniform for the Panthers.

Vanderbilt transfer Sheldon Jeter joins them for his sophomore season (he spent last season in prep school) after averaging 5.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 2012-13 for the Commodores. Count us among those excited to see how he'll fit into Jamie Dixon's rotation, and count him among those who are excited to be home.

"At the end of the day, I want to win championships and make it to the pros. I thought I had a great chance of doing that here," Jeter said during the annual Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro Am at Montour High School in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania. "The rest of my game will come around, but, offensively, I just have to get that rust off."

Keep an eye on fellow Beaver County product Cameron Johnson as well. The 6'7", 185-pound guard, one of the 2013-14 district scoring leaders at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School in Moon Township, showed the same impressive range as Jeter during the PBC Pro Am. On Pitt's August exhibition tour through the Bahamas, Johnson shot 42.1 percent from three-point range and averaged 9.8 points over four games.

Let's not forget about Hampton High School (Allison Park) big man Ryan Luther, either. He ended his varsity career as that program's all-time leading scorer, and although he might not see many minutes right away, he comes into this program in very good shape at 6'9" and 215 pounds.

If they all find success with Pitt in due time, then perhaps those recruiting "stay-cations" will become a new norm for Jamie Dixon?

4. Hawaii 6-0

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The Bahamas did not present the only tropical climate the Panthers will visit this year. They will take part in the prestigious Maui Invitational Nov. 24-26 at the Lahaina Civic Center, which should help Pitt silence the "they never play anybody" camp.

Technically, the event begins at The Pete Nov. 16 when Samford visits for a preliminary round game. But then the Panthers will get on a plane and say aloha to Chaminade on the Nov. 24 before taking on either BYU or San Diego State on the Nov. 25. The Aztecs finished No. 13 in last season's final AP Top 25 Poll and reached the Sweet 16.

If Pitt prevails, it could set up a championship contest with either Purdue, Kansas State, Missouri or Arizona. K-State made the NCAA tournament, and 'Zona reached the Elite Eight after a No. 4 AP Poll finish. The Boilermakers and Tigers are coming off tough seasons, but playing one of them in this event would still provide better exposure than some perfunctory tune-up game against Directional Florida.

If Pitt runs the table through the Maui Invitational, it will enter the ACC/Big Ten Challenge 6-0. It's an opportunity for the Panthers to find whatever credibility they might have lost during an up-and-down ACC campaign in 2013-14. Above all, it's an opportunity for a team that graduated its two highest-scoring players from last season to find themselves.

5. The March to March

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It's quite simple, really. As we said earlier, now that we're well into college football season, we're that much closer to college basketball season. The Panthers tip off their regular campaign Friday, Nov. 14 against Niagara at The Pete, and by then we'll be that much closer to one of the greatest spectacles in sports: March Madness.

Why look that far ahead? Because many won't really watch until then. Because that's when the Panthers are always judged, fairly or unfairly. Because that's when Jamie Dixon, prisoner of his own success, has a chance to escape that cell by winning an ACC championship and making at least a respectable push for a national one.

People want to get excited about this team every year. They don't want to have to couch that excitement if the team starts struggling when games really matter.

In other words, they want to know where their team really stands. But in a sport where rankings constantly prove to be meaningless, they won't know for sure until March.

6. Parting Shots

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There are other little things here and there for the Panthers and their fans to look forward to in 2014-15, namely the idea of revenge.

For the second year in a row their ACC opener is in Raleigh, where they'll meet North Carolina State for the first time since T.J. Warren enjoyed the best game ever by a visiting player at The Pete.

Florida State, sans Okaro White, returns to Pittsburgh just three games later. Then Pitt has a chance to turn last season's tables on Duke when it heads to Durham for ESPN's Big Monday. The Panthers will bask in the Big Monday spotlight with similar motivation when they travel to ACC champion Virginia.

But even before that, Pitt fans always relish the opportunity to rub Jim Boeheim's nose in the dirt, and even though Tyler Ennis won't be a part of Syracuse's return trip, they'll still root for a reckoning.

None of this will happen until much later. Better start preparing, though, because as a wise old athlete once said, it gets late early out there.

Statistics courtesy of the University of Pittsburgh Athletic Media Relations Office. Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.