Projecting Pitt Basketball's Starting Lineup

The Panthers are deep in the backcourt, meaning that their best lineups will be small.

PITTSBURGH -- After adding blue-chip point guard on Monday, the Pitt Panthers have a wealth of starting-caliber guards. Between Nike Sibande, Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and now Johnson, the Panthers have four players that are worthy of minutes and touches during what is expected to the last season in college basketball for each of them.

But because only five players can see the floor at the same time and there's only one ball, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel will be tasked with finding a point of equilibrium that balances these pieces and maximizes their potential. This isn't even about managing personalities and egos with shots and playing time - the Panthers will be a better team if they all shine. 

One way to maximize what you get out of that quartet is to play all of them at the same time. To that end, they should start those four guards alongside John Hugley and let them play the majority of every game together. The argument is pretty straightforward. This lineup puts the Panthers' best players on the floor and makes them the best offensive team possible. 

All four of those guards thrive creating offense off the dribble and there is enough shooting between Sibande, Cummings and Johnson to keep defenses honest and open driving lanes. It also makes the idea of doubling Hugley in the post much less attractive, something that teams used to stifle the star big man during the back half of last season. 

The Panthers could play fast to maximize the number of possessions and get each of the talented offensive players Pitt has plenty of shots, a novel concept for a program that's finished outside the top-150 in college basketball for adjusted tempo for each of the past 15 seasons. 

That group certainly has its flaws. The average height of a lineup of Hugley, Sibande, Burton, Cummings and Johnson is 6-foot-3, meaning that they will in all likelihood be a poor rebounding team. What's more, while they shouldn't be terrible defenders, the undersized Johnson and Cummings will be easy targets for bigger players to find mismatches against. 

But the gamble is worth it. The offense would be good enough to cover for subpar defense and rebounding, essentially a complete reversal from the style of play from Capel teams in the past. The Panthers have more talent than they've had in a while and they should take advantage of it. 

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