To a man, every Pitt player professes to love the Panthers' new devotion to playing up-tempo basketball. But the truth is, many of those players flourished in Pitt's former style, the patient, half-court game of years past.

There is one player who is really loving Pitt's new game.

Senior guard Keith Benjamin never could quite find his niche in Pitt's slow-down offense of seasons past. During his first three seasons, Benjamin often seemed like a square peg in a round hole. He had his moments and could play well at times, but he was never a consistent force.

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Tomorrow

• Who: Pitt (5-0) vs. Boston University (1-4).
• When: 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Petersen Events Center.
• TV/Radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WWSW (94.5 FM), WBGG (970 AM).

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But now that the Panthers are playing at a higher tempo, Benjamin's level of play has risen as well. He is excelling when the Panthers play the transition game and get into high-scoring affairs. He set a career high with 17 points in the 92-45 victory against the University of Buffalo Friday. When Pitt thumped Houston Baptist in the season opener in another high-scoring, up-tempo contest, Benjamin scored 16 points.

Benjamin credits Pitt's change in philosophy for allowing him to showcase his skills.

"In the past we were more of a patient team," said Benjamin, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Mount Vernon, N.Y. "But now coach [Jamie] Dixon is putting onus on the guards to get out there and make the game better. That benefits me more, the things I like to do."

Dixon is using Benjamin as his sixth man. He is usually the first reserve off the bench for starting shooting guard Ronald Ramon and is making the most of his opportunity.

Benjamin is the team's fifth-leading scorer through five games, averaging 8.6 points per game. But not all of Benjamin's points come in the transition game. He was 3 for 4 from 3-point range against Buffalo.

In the second half he scored eight consecutive points. It would have been 10 in a row, but he missed a dunk after making one of his three steals. Six of those points were from two 3-pointers.

"He has the freedom to go offensively," Dixon said.

His emerging offensive game is the result of hard work. Junior forward Sam Young is known for going to the Petersen Events Center late at night to hone his game. Now, when Young gets to the gym he sometimes has company.

"A couple of times when I come in here late at night and I think no one is in here, Keith is here working on his ballhandling drills," Young said. "That's a [trait] that all of our players have. Even when you think someone isn't working, you'll come in and someone will be here. That's a good work ethic that this team has."

The instant offense is a nice feature to have off the bench, but Dixon said Benjamin's best asset is his much-improved defense. Benjamin always had the athleticism to play good defense, but he had not completely comprehended the intricacies of what made a good defender.

Dixon said Benjamin understands what it takes to be a quality defender and teammate.

"Keith's biggest thing is his defense," Dixon said. "He's become a guy that we use as an example as far as doing things right. It's really clicking with him this year. The numbers stuck out on offense [against Buffalo]. But that can happen in any game. What he needed to do was the other things. His leadership has been great. I often talk about the leadership of our six [upperclassmen]. Those guys are key for us right now. They're doing a great job."