What to Look for During Midnight Madness

This upcoming Friday will be the first time fans will see the 2015-16 Panthers suit up. Last year Pitt failed to make the NCAA Tournament, but they do return four of five starters. Even though Midnight Madness does not count for anything there are several interesting topics to watch Friday night.

 

James Robinson has been cleared for practice and will be healthy for the start of the season, however the backup point guard is up for grabs. Guys like Chris Jones, Damon Wilson Jr., Jonathan Milligan, and Sterling Smith have all been rumored to have a chance to see time at that spot. On Friday we will get to see who might fit this roll better than the others. Dixon will not make his decision after this game, but at least it should provide a stepping-stone to what we might see going forward.

 

The other key spot on the Panthers will be how the new additions fit into the system. Nelson Alonzo-Ododa, Rafael Maia, Sterling Smith, Rozelle Nix, and Jonathan Milligan have all been added this offseason and not a lot is known for sure about where they will fit in. For Alonzo, Smith, and Maia they have even more curious question marks since they are all graduate transfers from small schools. How their game transitions to power conference level is questionable at best, so on Friday it can be seen if they are capable of providing valuable minutes.

Probably the most exciting thing of all will be to see the duo of Michael Young and Jamel Artis. These two have had an entire offseason to grow and develop from an already impressive season a year ago. They both have set the stage for some big expectation and Friday will be the first taste fans get of that potential stardom.

All in all though the main point of Friday will be excitement. Midnight Madness is meant for fans to get excited about the season and Pitt has plenty of reason to feel good about the upcoming year. It is great to finally see them in action after a long offseason after missing out on March Madness games, hopefully that trend does not continue through this season.