Pitt coach Jamie Dixon opened his news conference yesterday by discussing the dramatic weight loss of many of his top players. From point guard to center, Dixon rattled off the pounds shed.

It's not strange for Dixon to talk about the conditioning of his players, but the remarks could be a telling sign.

Without Aaron Gray at center and Levon Kendall at power forward, Pitt's most-experienced players are at the guard positions. And according to the players, the weight loss goes hand in hand with the Panthers shifting to a more guard-oriented, up-tempo offense.

"We're going to be very different," point guard Levance Fields said. "We're going to be more guard-oriented. We don't have that definite post presence like we had with Aaron and Levy last year. That's the good thing about having veteran guard play, so it will be up to us to get things going.

"I've been waiting for this. Nothing against the system we've been playing. It works. It worked for the past seven or eight years. But now, due to the loss of Aaron and Levon, we'll be more up-tempo, fast-breaking. It's definitely exciting. It's why me and Mike lost the weight that we did. We want to be able to get up and down the court as much as possible."

Fields has lost 20 pounds since the end of last season and weighs in at 195 pounds. Cook is 212, down seven from his playing weight a season ago. And it's just not the guards. Every player on the team has had their weight monitored strictly by the coaching and training staff.

"We've seen some dramatic changes in some guys," Dixon said. "They've really responded in a positive manner. And they've exceeded those goals."

Senior guard Ron Ramon, who will be the starter at shooting guard, said the transition was expected given the makeup of the team.

"We have veterans at the guard positions," he said. "That's where we have to look."

Ramon does not have concerns about growing pains in the transition to a new style. He said the offense is not changing, only the emphasis on running the fast break.

"Not at all," Ramon said. "Offensively, we'll still run the same amount of plays, the same looks. It will just be, from our perspective, getting the rebound and running. When we get the rebound we're going to look to run right away. That will be one of our advantages. If we don't [take a fast-break opportunity], we'll pull it out and run something."

This is not the first time Pitt players have talked about playing more up-tempo. It's been a recurring refrain for more than a few years now. In seasons past, the fast-breaking style never came to fruition in games.

But this time the players believe things will be different. They said their lack of conditioning in years past did not allow them to play an up-tempo style.

"Yeah, I believe it," Cook said. "We worked hard to get shape. Before, we didn't run because we didn't work hard to get in shape. But this season everyone took it upon themselves to get in the best shape possible, and I think it's going to pay off for us this year.

"I'm really looking forward to it. Being a guard and one of the main players, it's going to be exciting to be more aggressive and just get out there and run a lot. It's going to be an exciting time for us."

Dixon does not plan to abandon the inside game. He has many talented players in the frontcourt, most notably junior forward Sam Young and highly touted freshman center DeJuan Blair.

But Dixon also knows that playing to his strengths at guard is something the team likely needs to be successful.

"It's going to be a little different," Dixon said. "Our offense won't be focused on going inside-out as much. But at the same time I see the same talents that Aaron had with his ability to pass in DeJuan and Cassin [Diggs]. They both can score on the block. Tyrell [Biggs] has played center in the past. We'll still have the ability to go as big as anybody, but we can also go a little smaller. We can change things and play to our strengths. Bottom line in our conference: every basket is going to be a grind."