Aaron Gray could have improved his game in the NBA under the watchful eye of NBA coaches while drawing an NBA paycheck, but it was the lure of college and a sense of loyalty to teammates that led Gray to the decision to return to Pitt for his senior season rather than remain in the NBA draft.

Gray turned down what likely would have been a million-dollar contract to return to Pitt and be the focal point of a team that will be the favorite to win the Big East Conference and compete for a national championship. Gray said he spoke with all his teammates in the past few weeks and said their words played a big role in his decision-making process.

"I called every single one of them and sat down with them," Gray said. "I told them if I passed up this opportunity to come back [to] be with you guys, I have to make sure you guys are committed to the things I want to achieve here. Every one of them looked me in the eye and told me we have a common goal. I wholeheartedly believed them. That was one of the biggest factors, actually, that made me come back here."

Gray had two strong workouts with the New York Knicks and Washington Wizards last week, but neither team promised him that he would be their first-round selection. One source familiar with the process said yesterday that the Utah Jazz, which holds the No. 14 pick in the June 28 draft, wanted Gray to remain in the draft.

"If I had stayed in the draft I wanted to make sure I had a backstop there at 18 or 20, the draft picks the Knicks and Wizards have," Gray said.

"But teams as high as New Orleans at 12, Utah at 14, Chicago at 16 and Sacramento at 19 all wanted me to come in and work out against some of the premier players. So maybe [a guarantee] was something I was looking for, but it wasn't as big a part in my decision as people might think.

"There aren't as many guarantees as you would think. The information they gave me was promising. I had two good workouts after maybe not such a good workout down in Orlando [at the NBA predraft camp]. It was a great learning experience. At the end of the day, it was my decision. Did I want to go to the NBA this year or come back here and be a part of something special?"

Gray said some of the negative feedback he received from NBA teams was that he had to continue to sculpt his body and get in better condition. But other than that, it was mostly positive.

"Keep doing what you're doing. That's the feedback we got from NBA people," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

"There was a great opportunity for me to go to the NBA, but one thing my mom told me was that the NBA was going to be there next year for me as well," Gray said.

"We're going to have a good team this year. We have a lot of promise. To be a big fish in a small pond for another year ... It just seemed like a good opportunity."

Gray feels strongly that he has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with Pitt next season. The Panthers have made five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, but the 2006-07 Panthers could be something special. In addition to Gray, Pitt has seven other key players returning from a team that was 25-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.

The expectations could be as high as they were in 2002, when the Panthers returned five starters and opened the season No. 5 in the Associated Press poll. That team was 28-5 and lost to Marquette in the Sweet 16.

One preseason poll has the Panthers ranked fourth. Andy Katz of ESPN.com has Pitt ranked No. 4 behind Florida, Kansas and North Carolina in his preseason poll that came out yesterday.

"We have a lot of returnees," Dixon said. "But we have a lot of guys who will have to give us more than they have in the past. It's June. We still have a lot of work to do. Give me a break until November, all right?"