On Tuesday night at 9 p.m., Zoo Crew, Pitt’s alumni team, will compete against Herd That (Marshall alumni) in the Round of 64 of The Basketball Tournament in Wheeling, West Virginia.
The Zoo Crew roster features players who played for each of the Panthers’ past three coaches: Jeff Capel, Kevin Stallings, and Jamie Dixon. Let’s dive into the roster ahead of the action on Tuesday.
The 6-foot guard played for Pitt last season (2022-23), averaging 11.1 points and 4.8 assists per game to lead the Panthers from the point guard position. Cummings recently signed a professional contract with AEL Limassol BC, a pro team in Cyprus.
LeVance Fields
A 5-foot-10 floor general, Fields excelled at Pitt from 2005-09, starting 100 games and averaging 9.5 points and 4.9 assists per game. Fields put up a whopping 7.5 assists per game as a senior. He played in four NCAA Tournaments in his Panther career.
Josh Newkirk
Newkirk is a 6-foot-1 guard who played at Pitt from 2013-15 before transferring to Indiana. At Pitt, he scored 5.2 points per game and hit 41% of his field-goal tries.
Nike Sibande
Sibande is an explosive 6-foot-4 guard who spent the last three years at Pitt. Following his first year with the Panthers (6.9 PPG), he tore his ACL. He then came back this past year, scoring 8.4 points per game and grabbing more than four rebounds per game en route to ACC Sixth Man of the Year honors.
Greg Elliott
Elliott spent one season with the Panthers, scoring more than ten points per game this year as a sharpshooter. He hit 42% of his three-point attempts, starting 36 games and helping the Panthers make the NCAA Tournament.
WINGS
Gilbert Brown
Brown, the GM, Head Coach, and a player of Zoo Crew, played for Pitt from 2006-11. The 6-foot-6 wing scored 10+ points per game in his junior and senior seasons and started all 34 games his senior year. Brown played in four NCAA Tournaments in his career.
Jamel Artis
The 6-foot-7 Artis played at Pitt from 2013-17, starting 98 games and playing under both Jamie Dixon and Kevin Stallings. Artis exploded in his senior year, averaging 18.2 points per game and hitting 39% of his three-point attempts.
FORWARDS
Gary McGhee
A 6-foot-11 big man, McGhee played at Pitt from 2007-11, starting 69 games and playing a big role as a junior and senior. He scored 6.9 points per game in each of his last two seasons while also grabbing a career-best 7.7 rebounds per contest in his senior campaign.
Ryan Luther
A 6-foot-9 forward, Luther played for Pitt from 2014-18 before transferring to Arizona as a grad transfer. In his Pitt career, he steadily improved each year, building up to an average of 12.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game as a senior.
Talib Zanna
Another 6-foot-9 forward, Zanna played for the Panthers from 2009-14, earning a larger role each season as his career went on. As a senior, he posted averages of 13 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest.
Sam Young
Young, a 6-foot-6 forward, starred at Pitt from 2005-09, earning countless accolades throughout his time in Pittsburgh including 2x All Big East, Big East Tournament MVP, and more. In his junior and senior seasons with the Panthers, he scored 18.1 and 19.2 points per game, respectively.
COACHES
Gilbert Brown (GM, Head Coach, Player)
Brown is also playing for Zoo Crew. He is currently on Pitt’s basketball staff, working as Director of Player and Alumni Development.
DeJuan Blair (Assistant Coach)
Blair, a Pittsburgh native, played for Pitt from 2007-09, putting up big numbers inside from the moment he stepped on campus. Blair averaged 13.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game in his two-year Pitt career before being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs.
Jaron Brown (Assistant Coach)
Brown played for Pitt from 2000-04, averaging 9.2 points per game and hitting 50% of his field goals in his Panther career. He now coaches at Woodford County High School.
