Ashton Gibbs got a taste of it last season.

As his Pittsburgh Panthers began their NCAA Tournament run, the freshman guard was asked to contribute. With senior guard Levance Fields having logged so many minutes on the season, Gibbs was counted on to supplement the league’s leader in assists despite averaging only 10.7 minutes per game in the regular season.

Pittsburgh eventually fell to Villanova in the Elite Eight, and as the Panthers walked off the court in disbelief, they had to face the reality of what was to come. Four starters were leaving, including Big East Co-Player of the Year DeJuan Blair, All-Big East forward Sam Young and Fields.

With a new era underway for Pittsburgh (16-6, 6-4 Big East), this once-backup point guard was about to face an entirely new challenge. After one season of being solely a 3-point threat, Gibbs would now be counted on to be the top scoring option for a team that went 31-5 the year prior.

Now, leading the Panthers with 16.8 points per game this season, it’s safe to say the 6-foot-2 guard from Scotch Plains, N.J., has risen to the challenge.

‘Watching him as a freshman, you see his work ethic and you knew he was going to get better and improve,’ Pittsburgh head coach Jamie Dixon said. ‘I think he’s improved at pretty much every area that we’ve addressed with him, and that’s rare for a player.’

Those who knew Gibbs before he was a Big East standout know the rare kind of competitor that he is. Though the guard was never very vocal with his teammates, his former coaches said he led with his actions both on and off the court. While playing for legendary coach Bob Farrell at Seton Hall Preparatory High School, Gibbs didn’t slack off despite already being one of the top basketball players in New Jersey. On the contrary, Gibbs could be seen working out in the high school gym at all hours of the night, perfecting both his body and his game.

‘He would go from an hour of weight training to a two and a half hour practice and be the last guy to leave the gym,’ Farrell said. ‘He’s a gym rat when focused. He’s not just in there for the sake of being in there. He’s working at full speed trying to recreate the situations, and I think that’s what helps him be the kind of player that he is.’

Following his freshman season, Gibbs knew that there were some holes in his game. As a backup point guard, Gibbs could live off of being a reliable 3-point shooter and a solid passer. But if he was going to lead his Panthers back to the Elite Eight, he was going to have to make some adjustments.

With that in mind, both Gibbs and Dixon worked extensively in an effort to make Gibbs a more effective all-around player. The player and coach got back to the drawing board and outlined what Gibbs would need to focus on in order to be an elite Big East point guard. The dynamic 3-point shooter was going to need to become a better rebounder, and his defense would need to improve in order to stop the swift point guards of the conference.

After three months of grueling practices in the gym, Gibbs has taken his game to the next level, and the results are evident. The sophomore leads his team in scoring, and the Panthers boast a 16-6 record, good enough for a fourth-place tie in the Big East.

‘This summer we saw his development and his improvement,’ Dixon said. ‘Ashton is very receptive to coaching, and I think that’s what has made part of his improvement this year. He takes it in and he responds, and everything that we have brought to him this year he has really taken in and done it. And that’s quite a trait.’

Two years removed from Gibbs’ graduation from Seton Hall Prep, Farrell watches Panthers games and admires the kind of player that Gibbs has grown into, leading the No. 22-ranked team in the country. Though Farrell admits that he was a bit surprised at how well the guard has shined in his new role with the Panthers, now he knows never to doubt what Gibbs can do on the floor.

Following Gibbs’ tremendous junior season of high school, Farrell remembers thinking that his star player had reached his plateau. And then came his senior season, which was even more spectacular.

‘The fact that he’s gotten so much better from last year doesn’t totally surprise me,’ Farrell said. ‘But when anybody improves as much as Ashton has, there is a little surprise involved. He’s a kid with quite a confidence. There is nobody that he plays against that he doesn’t feel he’ll match up well against. I know Coach Dixon feels that the areas that he needed to improve on over last summer, he did. What he needs to work on, he works on.’

Player to watch

Dominique Jones

South Florida’s Jones had another remarkable week as he led the Bulls to two consecutive victories. On Jan. 28 Jones scored 28 points as USF (15-7, 5-5 Big East) ousted Seton Hall (12-8, 3-6 Big East) in overtime. Later in the week, Jones was at the forefront of USF’s upset against Pittsburgh as he delivered 37 points and grabbed eight boards. The Player of the Year candidate posted a 52.8 field-goal percentage on the week and shot 85.7 percent from the free-throw line. The junior guard leads the Big East in scoring, averaging 26.8 points per game.

Game to watch

No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 6 West Virginia

Monday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m., ESPN

Two of the top three Big East teams will meet in Morgantown, W. Va., in what promises to be a thriller as the Wildcats (20-1, 9-0) take on the Mountaineers (18-3, 7-2). Villanova is first in the conference, as it is off to its best start in school history, but West Virginia only trails the Wildcats by two games in the Big East standings. Villanova, which has won 11 consecutive games since falling to Temple on Dec. 13, will have arguably its toughest stretch of the season this week, as the Wildcats head to Washington, D.C., to take on No. 7 Georgetown (16-5, 6-4) just two days prior to its meeting with WVU. Following the Mountaineers’ loss to Syracuse on Jan. 16, West Virginia has won four straight games. These two teams will conclude their Big East schedules facing off again on March 6 at Villanova.

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Published on February 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm