The third season of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am is set to begin today, and the summer league for local college players promises to be the most competitive season to date.

For the first time, all four Division I schools in the area will participate. Pitt, West Virginia, Duquesne and Robert Morris players, including incoming freshmen, will take part.

"This all started after I had a chance meeting with [Pitt coach] Jamie Dixon three years ago," said league director John Giammarco. "He wanted a competitive summer league for the players around here. This isn't pickup basketball. This is top-flight competition. I'm really proud the way this has grown and developed to what Jamie's vision was. His commitment to basketball in Western Pennsylvania is second to none. He gets the big picture."

Twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, the best Division I players, as well as some of the top talent in Division II, will be on display at the Greentree Sportsplex in Green Tree. Games will be played at 7, 8 and 9 p.m. and admission is free.

As per NCAA rules, only two returning players from the same team can be teammates in league play, so the talent is dispersed among the six teams. In addition to seeing stars such as Pitt's Sam Young, DeJuan Blair and Levance Fields, many fans show up to see the top incoming freshmen.

Pitt's five incoming players will participate: Guards Ashton Gibbs, Travon Woodall and Jermaine Dixon and forward Dwight Miller are scheduled to compete throughout the summer; forward Nasir Robinson is not scheduled to play until near the end of the season.

West Virginia's top two recruits, Kevin Jones and Devin Ebanks, will play, as will several well-known players who have graduated: former Pitt players Keith Benjamin, John DeGroat and Chevon Troutman. And Dante Calabria, formerly of North Carolina and Blackhawk High School, will make an appearance. Calabria plays professionally in Italy.

The league is growing in reputation. When Giammarco called West Virginia's Joe Alexander to wish him well in the NBA draft, Alexander told him how much he enjoyed playing in the league and how the competition had helped him.

The league wraps up with playoffs and a championship game July 21 and 23.

"I've been around the local basketball scene for a long time and it's been a long time since an offseason program generated this much interest," Giammarco said. "This wouldn't happen if all four schools didn't work together to make this happen. Every other major city has something like this. It's an exciting time for college basketball in Western Pennsylvania."

NOTES -- Pitt sophomore DeJuan Blair took part in the Amare Stoudemire camp for power forwards in Phoenix over the weekend. This week, senior point guard Levance Fields will take part in the Steve Nash camp for point guards in New Jersey and senior forward Sam Young will compete at the Vince Carter camp for small forwards in Orlando. It is a prestigious honor for each. Only 10 players in the country were invited to participate in each camp.