Lighter Dexter Pittman Shouldering Heavier Load for Texas

Each time Dexter Pittman spins from the block and glides with grace to the basket, or he powerfully rejects a shot from an opponent, he's simultaneously paying homage to his coach's vision and making mockery of his critics.

Four years ago as a rather rotund freshman, Pittman seemed much more likely to be on the wrong side of a Texas basketball trivia question than anything. Boy were the naysayers wrong.

Now, some 70 pounds slimmer and three seasons later the imposing 6-foot-10, 290 pound senior center has positioned himself to be remembered as one of the most improved players in UT history, and for helping the second-ranked Longhorns reach unprecedented heights.

"It's been a journey," Pittman said to FanHouse on Wednesday. "Everybody didn't expect me to be like this, to become the player that I am now. The only people who believe in me were my coaches and my family."

Most important, Pittman believed in himself. With the help of UT strength and conditioning coach Todd Wright, Pittman defied the limitations placed on him by others and has become an integral part of the Texas Longhorns' frontcourt the past two seasons.

Last season he was the most improved player in the Big 12 and arguably in the country, especially towards the end of the year.

And that's carried over into this season where Pittman has become even more of a focal point as a consistent scoring threat in the low post and shot-blocking presence inside, teaming with Damion James to pose one of the most dominant frontcourts in the country.

Two years ago, Pittman was a role player who averaged 2.8 points per game. Today, he is the Longhorns' second-leading scorer (13.7 points) and rebounder (6.2 boards) behind James, and has blocked 21 shots while averaging 18.9 minutes through the first nine games. His numbers are up across the board on the heels of an impressive junior campaign.

"I know this year I have to become more of a player than role player," said Pittman, who is leading the Longhorns in field goal percentage, shooting .778 from the floor. "I've got to be one of the top guys who's going to bring it every night instead of just being a reserve and knowing whenever my number is called I have to be ready to go.

"Now, I have to go into every game knowing that I'm going to be with the first fleet out there and I've got to bring the energy. I also know I'm the guy who has got to give my team energy and momentum. Like coach said, the guys play off of my energy. Whenever I make a dunk the first play of the game, that gets us motivated."

That's certainly a major leap from being the nearly 400-pound kid with deceptive athletic skills Rick Barnes and his staff recruited out of Terry High School in Rosenberg, Texas. But Barnes believes there is still so much room for growth from the fourth-year senior who has played in 109 games during his career.

"We all know Dexter has gotten better over four years, but I still think he is just scratching the surface of what he can be," said Barnes, whose 9-0 Longhorns take on No.10 North Carolina on Saturday at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. "Right now he is playing more minutes at this time than he has played, but we'd still like to get more minutes out of him than we are right now. Obviously, a lot of that is based on the opponent, based on foul situations and all that.

"We want to see him continue to condition himself to the point where he can play sustained minutes because when he is on the floor he's definitely a person people have to deal with on both ends of the court. So we are still pushing to get his minutes up."

And that's perfectly fine with the lighthearted Pittman, who laughed when he heard of Barnes' desire to increase his minutes and production.

"I know I can go out there and play at least 30 minutes a game right now," he said. "But I also know once the season goes I will get better, better and better, so I'm not really worried about anything right now.

"People think I'm playing great right now but they just don't know I haven't even put in half the work yet to be as great as I could be."

In Pittman's mind, the same goes for the Longhorns. Most around the country believe Texas is the one team that can challenge the No.1 Kansas Jayhawks not only for the Big 12 title, but also the Final Four championship in April.

Pittman certainly has faith this season's Longhorns can go further than any other UT team in school history. He also believes they are just scratching the surface as they blend in talented freshmen Avery Bradley, J'Covan Brown and Jordan Hamilton with veterans such as Justin Mason, Alexis Wangmene, Gary Johnson, James and himself.

"We can be great, but we are not even halfway there because the young guys like Avery, Jordan and J'Covan are still learning the game, but they are getting better every day," Pittman said. "You can tell by their numbers they are getting better.

"We are working hard to win this national championship and that's what we want to be. We've put in a lot of work and time outside of the court and on the court to get where we are now and where we want to be at the end of the season."

But in the meantime, the Longhorns have a lot of pressure on them after entering the season as a consensus Top 3 team and ascending to the No. 2 spot against a relatively harmless slate. But that changes considerably with Saturday's neutral site game against the North Carolina Tar Heels, followed Tuesday by a home game against 12th-ranked Michigan State.

Both games should tell Pittman and the Longhorns a great deal about themselves.

"It's just all about me going out there and playing my game and playing what I was taught, and just go out there and play for my teammates and myself," he said. "It don't matter what jersey is in front of me, I just have to go out there and do what I do. Me and my teammates, that's our whole mentality: do what you do, do your job and the rest will handle itself."

Still, Pittman can't deny there is a certain excitement that goes with playing against a program with the reputation of the Tar Heels and being the first two basketball teams to play in the Cowboys' new digs.

"It's a great, great atmosphere to play in Jerry Jones' world. It's like the high-tech thing today," Pittman said. "And then playing North Carolina. Every little boy's dream growing up was to either play with North Carolina or against them. So it's like a dream come true for me to play against them. They are a great basketball school, they are on top of the list of every basketball guru's of the world. Going out there and playing against great players and a great coach, what more can you ask for?"