Upon completion of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am championship game Wednesday night at the Greentree Sportsplex, Pitt's Mike Cook and Gilbert Brown walked onto the court and lofted a few shots lazily toward the basket.

Laid up with injuries for the summer, it was about the only thing Pitt's two small forwards were allowed to do under their rehabilitation guidelines.

While the rest of their teammates spent the past five weeks competing against the area's top college players, Cook and Brown were forced to watch from the sideline. They didn't particularly enjoy it.

"It's definitely frustrating, especially when I come out here and watch these guys play," Brown said. "It's tough."

Brown sprained an ankle at the LeBron James Basketball Camp in late June and has had a difficult time coming back from the injury. He attempted to play one summer league game earlier this month and had a setback. His goal is now to be back at full strength by early September.

For Cook, the frustration is doubly difficult to handle. He has yet to hear from the NCAA about receiving a sixth season of eligibility. Pitt is petitioning the NCAA on Cook's behalf after he suffered a major knee injury against Duke in December.

The NCAA is expected to make a final determination on Cook's status sometime before the first day of classes in late August.

For Cook, the more frustrating part of the equation is not related to the NCAA and knowing whether he'll be a Panther this season. It's the inability to play the game he loves.

"I really didn't have a timetable with the NCAA and when that was supposed to be done, but they told me about a month ago that it would be a week," he said. "After that, I just try not to think about it.

"I'm dealing with a bigger frustration of not being able to play basketball right now. As long as I can play basketball, that's the most important thing to me. If it's not here, then I have to work for it to be somewhere else."

Cook's rehabilitation has been going well, but it is a long and arduous process. He is spending between one and four hours a day with Pitt trainer Tony Salesi and strength coach Tim Beltz. On the weekends, he is allowed to shoot a few jumpers.

There is some hope that he will be allowed to begin playing competitive basketball by September, but he first must demonstrate that his knee is completely sound.

"I really don't know when I'm going to start playing," Cook said. "Right now, it's about me getting my knee stronger. I really can't jump off my one leg. But once I can do that, I'll be out there playing. But I don't know when that is.

"Not being able to jump off my one leg is my biggest issue right now. I'm doing really well with my cutting. I just started jumping off my one leg Monday. I can get up, but I can't jump as high as I used to and I really don't have any explosion. It's not really an issue. I kind of expected this when I started. I just have to get comfortable with it like anything else."

While Cook awaits word, Brown is faced with the uncertainty of where and how much he will play this season. Brown, who came on strong toward the end of last season and performed well in the Big East tournament, will be the starter at small forward if Cook does not play. But things could be juggled if Cook comes back.

Either way, Brown said he will be content with his role.

"If we get Mike back, it's a plus for our team," he said. "We need another player with experience who has been through the Big East schedule. If Mike comes back, there's a possibility that we can play shooting guard and small forward together. It's about how coach wants to play."

Brown said he does not care whether he plays shooting guard or small forward.

"I came here to play basketball," he said. "I can play shooting guard or small forward. Either position, in our offense, is basically the same. My goals are to take over as the primary defender. That's my No. 1 role on this team. I want to be like Antonio Graves used to be for this team. I care about stats, but with this team we have scoring with Levance [Fields] back at point guard and Sam [Young] and everyone else. I'm going to get my opportunities to score, but I think I can really help this team with my defense."

NOTES -- The UPMC sponsored team led by Aaron Jackson of Duquesne won the Pro-Am championship. Only one Pitt player was on that team -- center Gary McGhee. ... The all-league team consisted of Jackson, Fields, Young and DeJuan Blair of Pitt, Joe Mazulla of West Virginia, Jeremy Chappell of Robert Morris and Josh Taylor of Eastern Kentucky. ... The top rookie was Kevin Jones of West Virginia.