Area 4-1-Zoo: McGhee Hopes For Stellar Year

Seemingly every year, the Big East is regarded as the best and most physical conference in college basketball.

Given that, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon hopes senior center Gary McGhee has the best season of his career in this, his final year with the Panthers. McGhee, who steadily improved upon his freshman and sophomore numbers last year, attended various big man camps over the summer to improve his game. The hopes are that the offseason work will pay off in a physical advantage over the rest of the conference.

"That definitely is a realistic goal," McGhee said when asked if being the best rebounding team in the conference is attainable. "If we're the best rebounding team in the conference, we'll be the best rebounding team in the country. We're gonna have to do a better job of crashing hard, limiting possessions, getting defensive rebounds and getting it out and running."

Dixon is happy with what he has seen so far from McGhee with his camp work and the Panthers trip to Ireland, where the Panthers went 6-0.

Still, he wants to see more.

"He's made steady improvement over his career," Dixon said. "This is year four for him. I've always touted how great of a defensive player he was, especially last year for us. I think he could be the best defensive player in the Big East."

Dixon stressed, though, that McGhee still needs to work to "earn it," saying his influence won't necessarily be evident in obvious stats like shot blocks and rebounds. Rather, he will need to make the strong hustle plays down low that sometimes go unnoticed.

"He does some very good things," Dixon said. "It won't be measured in shot blocks -- it won't be measured by those things -- but position, help defense, paint touches…those kind of things they limit."

McGhee's defensive game has always been his strength. Last year he averaged 6.8 rebounds (81 total offensive, 149 defensive) and 1.7 blocks a game.

Offensively is where he needs work, averaging just 6.9 points a game last season. His highest single-game point total was 12, a feat he accomplished three times. McGhee reached double digits eight times in 2009-10, but just three times in Big East play.

"All offseason, with the camps and getting in to the gym by myself and getting shots, working on my post moves, getting my touch down, I feel like I'm now a legitimate scorer down low," McGhee said. "I feel like I can contribute consistently down low if I get the ball.

"I'm looking forward to this season."

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Chris Gates | Area 4-1-Zoo Blog
Twitter.com/Chris_Gates
Chris.Gates@cbsradio.com