Pitt coach Jamie Dixon does not make a habit of handing out starting assignments to true freshmen. He has done it only twice during his six-year tenure as the Panthers' head coach.

Dixon's modus operandi has been to bring his young players along slowly, get them acclimated to college basketball and then insert them into the starting lineup as sophomores and juniors.

But with starting positions to fill at four positions, Dixon might have to bring along his freshmen quicker than he has in the past. When Dixon fills out his starting lineup for the season opener in November, it's not out of the realm of possibility that he will have a freshman among his starting five and a few others playing in reserve roles.

Those new recruits arrived in town last week and began preparations for their first season of college basketball at the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am at the Greentree Sportsplex in Green Tree.

Dante Taylor, Talib Zanna, J.J. Richardson and Lamar Patterson form a recruiting class that ranks among the top 25 in the country. Add in Dwight Miller and Travon Woodall, who both took redshirts last season, and half of the roster is composed of players who have never played in a Big East basketball game.

"We have to come in and be ready to play," said Taylor, Pitt's highest-rated recruit of the Dixon era. "That's not asking too much. We all knew what we were coming into. We all knew who was leaving. Now we just have to prove what we have to do on the court."

Taylor, a 6-foot-9 forward/center, is Pitt's first McDonald's All-American since Brian Shorter and Bobby Martin in 1987. He is a candidate to step into the starting center position that DeJuan Blair vacated when he decided to turn professional after his sophomore season.

At 6-9, Taylor is not the ideal size to play center in the Big East, but he and Zanna are the tallest players on the roster after 6-10 junior Gary McGhee, who is the only Panther with experience in the frontcourt.

"I think my best position will be [power forward]," Taylor said. "But right now we're in the weight room, so by the beginning of the season I'll put on a little weight and get stronger, so I'll probably play [center]."

Taylor's reputation took a small hit when he was cut from the USA Basketball under-19 team that Dixon is coaching this summer. Taylor admitted he was out of shape for the tryout but said that was the result of being inactive for two weeks while he tended to his sick mother.

Taylor, who labored through summer league games last week, said he is now focused on getting in shape for the start of the season.

"I'm excited right now," he said. "This is a whole new experience for me. I can't wait for it to get started."

Zanna, a 6-foot-9, 225-pounder from Bishop McNamara High in Maryland, can also play power forward and center. A native of Nigeria who grew up playing soccer, Zanna reported to Pitt in great shape after hiring a personal trainer following the end of his high school basketball season.

Zanna, who came to the U.S. from Nigeria four years ago to pursue a basketball career, might have the most room for growth among the new recruits, but he also has the most to learn about the game that is still relatively new to him.

Richardson, a 6-7 forward, can play small forward or power forward. He has shown an ability to make outside jumpers in summer league games and his ability to pass fits in with Pitt's unselfish style.

Patterson, a 6-5 guard who once was a highly rated five-star recruit but slipped in the rankings to a three-star in the past year, could fit in at small forward or shooting guard.

Veteran guard Gilbert Brown likes what he has seen thus far from the new players.

"All of them are very skilled," Brown said. "They all bring something to the table. J.J. might surprise the most. He's athletic, he can shoot and he's naturally strong. And I don't think he's ever been in a weight room. He plays hard."

Brown admitted there is a different vibe around the team this summer. In years past, there were two or three returning starters who could take the helm and each player had defined roles.

Still, the confidence level remains high for a team that is attempting to reach the NCAA tournament for a ninth consecutive season.

"Everyone still has a feeling that we're going to be very good," Brown said. "It's just a matter of how the pieces fall, who starts, who plays where."