Sam Young used to be the classic gym rat. In his first two seasons at Pitt, Young would play basketball all day. Whether it was in July or in the midst of March Madness, Young would play long after his coaches stopped blowing their whistles.

Late at night, after his teammates had gone home, Young would play the team managers one on one. It didn't matter who the opponent was, Young just wanted to play.

Pitt coach Jamie Dixon can appreciate a great work ethic, but he put an end to Young's marathon playing sessions after last season. Young's health and his future role on Pitt's team depended upon it.

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Pitt Fan Fest

• When: 1-4 p.m. Sunday.
• Where: Petersen Events Center.
• What: The men's and women's teams will sign autographs with intrasquad scrimmages to follow. The women will scrimmage at 2:50 p.m. and the men are set to tip off at 3:35.
• Parking: Free in the OC lot.
• Admission: Free.

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Young, a 6-foot-6 junior from Clinton, Md., played with tendinitis in both knees last season. The nagging condition never kept him from playing in a game, but his statistics plummeted from his promising freshman season.

Young went from averaging 7.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game to 7.2 points and 3.0 rebounds in a disappointing sophomore slump. With two well-rested, well-maintained knees and a starting position for the first time, Young is looking forward to a junior season in which he can live up to his considerable potential.

"People are going to watch out for me," Young said. "My knees are healthier. I feel a lot more confident about jumping. Sometimes I would go into the lane last year and I would hesitate to jump off one leg.

"There was a lot of stuff last year that was bothering me. It was frustrating. I was definitely not 100 percent. At the end of the season, I had to take two weeks off just to relax my knees. I even tried to stop walking."

Stop walking?

"Yeah," Young said. "I tried not to do anything."

It was shortly thereafter that Dixon met with Young to discuss his ailing knees. Now, Young is playing less on his own and no longer misses postpractice and postgame treatment sessions with Pitt's training staff.

"Sam's had a great offseason," Dixon said. "We've monitored his playing during the offseason. We've tried to be proactive with the knees. He had a lot of problems with the knees last year and it kept him out of a rhythm until late in the year. We've monitored that and it's been pretty successful."

With increased time in the training room and weight room, Young said his knees feel as strong as they ever have. His knees were so bad at times last season that he had to miss practices. In games, his athleticism and leaping ability -- two of his best attributes -- were noticeably curtailed.

"It's a matter of me taking care of it," Young said. "Last year, I would play and play and play. I knew my knees were bad. But sometimes I wouldn't get treatment. If I take care of it, I'm almost positive nothing will go wrong with it.

"Right now it's 99.9 percent. When I play on it, I don't feel it at all. That was my main focus over the summer. If I was going to compete, I needed to be 100 percent."

In addition to healthier knees, Young should benefit from playing one position. For the past two seasons, Dixon used Young at small forward during the non-conference schedule then at power forward in Big East games.

Young is not griping about the way Dixon plans to use him. Because the Panthers don't have a lot of experience or depth in the front court, Young will get many more minutes at power forward.

Young averaged just 17 minutes a game last season -- seventh on the team -- as the backup to steady veteran Levon Kendall. Young could average 10 to 12 minutes more a game this season, which could lead to many more double-figure scoring and rebound games.

Young has been Pitt's most productive player when measured in points and rebounds per minute the past two seasons.

"When you're in the background, you feel like you're on the outside looking in, and you wait for that chance for it to be your time," Young said. "Sometimes it doesn't always work that way.

"Now I'm [eager]. I feel like I've been ready to step up long before now. This is my time. I'm ready to step in and become one of the leaders of the team and handle my role appropriately."