A History of Pittsburgh Panthers Basketball

The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball program, representing the University of Pittsburgh, boasts a rich and storied history within NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletics. Commonly known as "Pitt," the program has experienced periods of national prominence, produced legendary players and coaches, and cultivated intense rivalries. From its humble beginnings in the early 20th century to its modern-day presence in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Pitt basketball has left an indelible mark on the landscape of college basketball.

Early Years and the "Doc" Carlson Era (1905-1953)

The University of Pittsburgh initiated its men's basketball program in 1905-06 under the guidance of coach Benjamin Printz. However, the team was temporarily disbanded for the 1909-10 and 1910-11 seasons. The program was revived in 1911, with Walter "Dutch" Wohlfarth taking over as head coach. The following year, Dr. George M. Flint assumed the head coaching role, embarking on a rebuilding effort for the program. During his ten years at the helm, Flint guided the Panthers to eight winning seasons and mentored future legendary Pitt coach H. C. "Doc" Carlson.

Henry Clifford "Doc" Carlson, M.D., took over as coach in 1922 and soon transformed Pitt into a national powerhouse. In the era before national tournaments, the Panthers were recognized as national champions both contemporaneously and retroactively by the Helms Athletic Foundation (1927-28 and 1929-30) and the Premo-Porretta Power Poll (1927-28). These championship teams were spearheaded by National Player of the Year, three-time All-American, and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Hyatt. Carlson, a groundbreaking coach inducted into the Naismith and Helms Foundation Basketball Hall of Fames, was known for his innovative strategies.

In the late 1920s, Carlson pioneered the concept of a "national schedule," leading his teams on midwestern road trips to compete against Big Ten schools. He is also credited as the first coach to take an Eastern team out west, in 1931. Carlson developed the widely emulated Figure Eight Offense and experimented with various conditioning techniques, including the use of oxygen on the bench. Under Carlson's leadership, and with two-time All-American Claire Cribbs, Pitt continued its success through the 1930s, securing four Eastern Intercollegiate Conference championships.

A notable moment in basketball history occurred on February 28, 1940, when Pitt participated in the first-ever televised basketball game. The Panthers emerged victorious with a 57-37 win over Fordham at Madison Square Garden, broadcasted by NBC station W2XBS. Carlson also guided Pitt to its first NCAA tournament appearance, culminating in a spot in the 1941 NCAA Final Four. In 1951, the program moved its competition into the Fitzgerald Field House, leaving the Pitt Pavilion, housed inside of Pitt Stadium.

The Timmons and Ridl Eras (1953-1980)

Robert Timmons succeeded Carlson as head coach for the 1953-54 season. Under his leadership, and with the contributions of two-time All-American and Helms Foundation Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Don Hennon, Pitt made two NCAA tournament appearances in the late 1950s. Timmons was followed by head coach Charles "Buzz" Ridl, renowned for his 'amoeba' defense, an ever-changing man-to-zone match-up strategy. With All-American Billy Knight on the roster, Ridl led Pitt to the Elite Eight in 1974, with early-round victories over St. Joseph's and Furman. Pitt's journey ended against eventual national champion North Carolina State in the Eastern Regional Final (Elite 8), played in a hostile environment in Raleigh, North Carolina. The team featured local talents such as Mickey Martin, Jim Bolla, Tom Richards, Keith Starr, Kirk Bruce, and Billy Knight, who later starred in the ABA for the Indiana Pacers and in the NBA.

Eastern Eight and the Rise of Paul Evans (1976-1994)

Pittsburgh native Tim Grgurich, who had served as an assistant coach under Ridl, became Pitt's next head coach. Grgurich led Pitt into the inaugural 1976-77 season of the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League, which would later be renamed the Eastern Eight (a forerunner to the Atlantic 10) the following year. That initial year, Larry Harris, a 6'6" forward with an impressive outside shot and an ability to score points in traffic, won the league scoring title. Grgurich was succeeded by Lafayette coach Dr. Roy Chipman, who initiated Pitt's resurgence toward national relevance. In his first season, the Panthers captured the Eastern Eight Conference tournament title.

Chipman would lead Pitt to three more postseason appearances before retiring after the '86 season. Paul Evans took over as head coach in 1986-87. Guided by All-Americans Charles Smith and Jerome Lane, Pitt secured its first two regular-season Big East Championships and attained several top-10 rankings, reaching as high as number two nationally. However, these teams fell short of expectations in their Big East and NCAA tournament appearances. After the departures of Smith and Lane, Pitt basketball continued to have a national, if not inconsistent, impact with players such as Sean Miller, Brian Shorter, Jerry McCullough, and Eric Mobley.

The Ben Howland Era (1999-2003)

Ben Howland was appointed as head coach of the Panthers in 1999-00, ushering in a period of sustained success that revitalized the program. In Howland's second season (2000-01), the Pitt team, led by senior standout Ricardo Greer and All-American guard Brandin Knight, advanced to the Big East tournament championship game and the NIT. The following two seasons (2001-02 and 2002-03) saw Pitt win back-to-back Big East regular season championships, reach consecutive Big East tournament championship games, and claim the Big East tournament title in 2003. Pitt also made consecutive NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen appearances (2002, 2003). Howland's accomplishments in the 2001-02 season earned him recognition as the Big East Coach of the Year, Naismith College Coach of the Year, and the Henry Iba Award as the best college basketball coach, as named by the United States Basketball Writers Association. In 2002, Pitt began playing at the 12,508-seat Petersen Events Center, constructed on the former site of Pitt Stadium.

The Jamie Dixon Era (2003-2016)

Jamie Dixon, who served as Howland's assistant at Northern Arizona and Pitt, was named head coach in 2003. Under Dixon's leadership, the Panthers sustained the progress initiated under Howland, securing a third consecutive Big East regular season championship (2004), a fourth straight appearance in the Big East tournament championship game, and a third consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

The 2008-09 season stood out for its historic achievements. The Panthers attained the #1 ranking in both the Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' poll for the first time in school history, holding the top spot for three weeks. On February 16, 2009, the #4 ranked Panthers defeated the #1 ranked UConn Huskies, 76-68, marking Pitt's first-ever victory against a #1 ranked team. The Panthers repeated this feat on March 7, 2009, with the #3 ranked Panthers again defeating #1 ranked UConn, 70-60, securing Pitt's second-ever win against a #1 ranked team. Pitt became only the seventh school in NCAA Division I history to defeat two #1 ranked teams in the same season.

On Selection Sunday, March 15, 2009, the Panthers received their first-ever No. 1 seed (East Region) in the 2009 NCAA tournament, reaching the Elite Eight for the first time since 1974. Pitt's 78-76 last-second loss to Big East Conference rival Villanova in the East Regional final became an instant classic.

The success of the 2008-09 season extended into the 2009-10 season, despite the loss of key players Sam Young, DeJuan Blair, and Levance Fields. The Panthers were picked to finish ninth in the Big East in a pre-season poll. However, Pitt achieved a 13-5 Big East record, earning a second seed in the Big East tournament, a third seed in the NCAA tournament, and a 25-9 overall record. The program achieved a school record of 10 consecutive seasons with at least 20 overall wins, 10 conference wins, and an NCAA Tournament appearance from 2002 through 2011. In 2011-12, Pitt missed the NCAA tournament but surpassed 20 wins for the 11th consecutive season and qualified for the College Basketball Invitational for a 12th consecutive post-season appearance.

Dixon's record at Pitt stood at 262 wins and 86 losses (.753 win percentage) in ten seasons (2003-04 through 2012-13), second in school history behind only Carlson. On March 31, 2010, Pitt extended Dixon's contract through the 2017-18 season. Dixon signed another contract extension on March 23, 2013, which ran through the 2022-2023 season.

Recent History: Stallings and Capel (2016-Present)

On March 28, 2016, the school hired Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings to fill the vacant head coaching position. Pitt went 16-17 and finished 14th in the ACC, its first losing season in 17 years. The Panthers notably lost to Duquesne for the first time since 2000 and suffered a 106-51 loss to Louisville, their worst loss since 1906. In Stallings's second season, Pitt went 8-24 and went 0-18 in ACC conference play, finishing last in the conference. The season's 19-game losing streak was the worst in Pitt history.

On March 27, 2018, Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel reached an agreement to become the 16th head basketball coach at Pitt. In the 2022-23 season, the Panthers finished with a regular season record of 21-10 and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years.

The Oakland Zoo

The "Oakland Zoo" is the student cheering section for the men's and women's basketball teams. Located in the bottom tier of the stands at the Petersen Events Center, primarily across from the teams' benches and on the baselines under the baskets, the Zoo creates a raucous atmosphere. The student section, typically clad in gold t-shirts, holds a capacity of 1,500 and is consistently sold out for Panthers home games. The Oakland Zoo is named after Oakland, the neighborhood in which the university is located.

Rivalries

Pitt has established several significant rivalries throughout its basketball history. The fiercest rivalry was with former Big East Conference member West Virginia University in the basketball version of the Backyard Brawl, an extension of the football rivalry. Adding to the importance of the game, Pitt and West Virginia shared membership in the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference (1933-1939), the Eastern Collegiate Basketball League West Division (1977), Eastern 8 Conference (1978-1982), and the Big East Conference (1996-2012). After five seasons without playing, the schools resumed their series in 2017 with a 69-60 win by the Mountaineers. As of 2024, the school have met 193 times, with West Virginia leading the series 103-90.

Another spill-over from the gridiron, the Panthers' third-most frequently-played opponent is the Penn State Nittany Lions, whom they have played 148 times. They played at least once every year from 1935-82 and briefly rekindled the rivalry at the turn of the century, playing annually from 2000-05. Since that time, they’ve gone against each other just twice, in 2013 as part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, and in the 2016 Never Forget Tribute Classic.

The Panthers also have a sustained rivalry with crosstown opponent Duquesne University in The City Game. A spillover from their football rivalry, the Panthers and Syracuse University also maintain a rivalry on the hardwood. The series intensified during the first decade of this century, during which both teams were highly competitive in the Big East and made numerous appearances in both the AP Top 10 and NCAA Tournament.

Accomplishments and Hall of Famers

The Panthers have appeared in the NCAA tournament 27 times and in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) nine times. They have also participated in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) once.

Charley Hyatt won the National Player of the Year award in 1929-30, leading the nation in scoring and making a last-second basket to win the National Title Game with 27 points.

Three inductees represent the University of Pittsburgh in the Helms Foundation Basketball Hall of Fame; two of them, Carlson and Hyatt, are also represented in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Henry Clifford "Doc" Carlson is noted as the innovator of the "figure 8" play, the first coach to take his team cross country, and a leading advocate for intersectional games. Charley Hyatt was a three-time All-American and two-time national scoring leader, who also earned three other all-pro awards in the pre-NBA era.

Thirteen Pitt players have received All-American honors across 14 unique seasons. Pitt players have been named First Team All-Americans 15 times, Second Team All-Americans seven times, and Third Team All-Americans six times.

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