Gary McGhee has been a pleasant surprise early in the season. He’s not making anyone forget DeJuan Blair, but he is playing far better than expected in his third year.

“We had a lot of confidence in him,” Dixon said. “You can see him getting better and better. I always talked to him about taking that step. All of a sudden, it snowballs once you get some confidence. We’re seeing that now with Gary. I talked to him about it when it happened to Aaron.”

Gray’s big improvement was part of the reason McGhee decided to come to Pitt. McGhee was not a highly recruited player out of Anderson, Ind., but he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Gray, who also was not highly recruited coming out of high school.

“I looked up to [Gray],” McGhee said. “I saw him play at Pitt. I saw him come along. They told me when they were recruiting me that he was a guy who didn’t do too much early on, but he worked real hard and became the Big East’s most improved player and an all-league player. That was something that drew me to the University of Pittsburgh.”

From the start of the season to this point the biggest thing that is standing out is some increased confidence the more he plays. It isn’t just that he’s no longer worried about being yanked if he fouls or makes a mistake, it is clear that he has a better understanding about what he is supposed to do and how to do it.

By contrast, there seems to be some frustration and grumbling that freshman Dante Taylor hasn’t lit things up. As is oft-mentioned, he’s Pitt’s first McDonald’s All-American since John Calipari was recruiting for Paul Evans. Taylor is averaging 5 rebounds and 6.2 points per game and only playing a little more than 16 minutes per game.

More troubling was that in Pitt’s first two national games at the CBE in Kansas City, Taylor looked lost and unsure of himself at times.

You expect, from a 6-9, 240 pound tower of quickness who won the skills competition prior to the McDonald’s All-America Game, a battery of floor-running, ball-handling, quick-shooting that separated him from the best of the best, something well outside the standard Panther muck-and-grind.

But you might not get it for awhile.

And that’s good, actually.

As the Panthers invade Kansas City for the completion of the O’Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic just as the Steelers depart, Dante Taylor appears more content to practically rebuild his game from the Dixon foundation up.

“I’m happy just to contribute, to just play,” Taylor said. “Get rebounds, play defense; I’m not tryin’ to score every time down the court, but yeah, that’s definitely a big adjustment for me because in high school I was always the main guy, getting the ball on every possession, getting a bunch of touches. But here I want to play the way they play.

“Coach always says, play wide, play long, and run the floor.”

Taylor just did not look comfortable out there. Very tentative at times. A reflection of a player that is unsure of what he should be doing. SOmething that makes sense, since Taylor is playing out of position. He is a power forward playing at center. He is trying to learn on the fly while meeting big expectations. It’s not instinctive and automatic.

Unlike DeJuan Blair — against whom he keeps being compared — the 5 isn’t where Taylor played in high school. Blair wanted to and did keep playing center. He was comfortable there and had much more confidence at the spot. Also, never forget how special Blair is. Blair is a freak in wingspan and the size of his hands. And of course desire to get boards.

In the 2009-10 College Basketball Prospectus, Ken Pomeroy devotes a chapter to chart just how spectacular a force he was for Pitt’s offense. It’s not something anyone is going to be plugged in and replace. Not even close.

As for future big men, Pitt’s ability to develop big men is a big reason why Maurice Walker is still hoping Pitt will have room for him come the spring.

Maurice Walker, a 6-foot-10, 270-pound low post force, told NBE at this weekend’s National Prep Showcase at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven (CT) that he currently is looking at a college list of Pittsburgh, Kansas, Connecticut, Georgetown, Arizona and Marquette, but he knows where he wants to go – Pittsburgh.

“I like what they’ve done in the past with players like me, you know, DeJuan Blair,” Walker said. “The atmosphere there is almost like the atmosphere at home. I’ve met the coaches and I like them, I’ve met the players and I like them.”

Walker did show the talents reminiscent of some of the recent Panthers in the post this weekend. The Canadian-born big man is a big body who takes up plenty of room in the paint at both ends of the floor. Offensively, he is more athletic than one would imagine, as he demonstrated some nice spin moves and even stepped out to a shoot a jumper. Walker gets offensive boards and can finish around the rim with both hands. He also gets tremendous position on the block against opponents. Defensively, Walker blocked shots and dominated the glass for the most part.

“Someone will have him lose weight and then yes,” a mid-major college assistant coach replied to NBE recently when asked if Walker could make an impact in the Big East in the future.

When asked why he has not committed to Pitt yet, Walker responded: “I’ve been talking back and forth with the coaches there, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet.”

Which is because the academic status of J.J. Moore is not one that will be certain until later, plus Pitt is already 1 over the scholarship limit to offer.

Then there is 2011 recruiting class where Pitt may be looking at a Kiwi by the name of Rob Loe. A 6’11” center, who appears to be heading to the IMG Academy for a year of prepping.

Loe averaged 18.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in four games at the 2009 FIBA U19 World Championships last summer. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, who is hot on Loe’s trail, was the head coach for the USA’s U19 team that went 9-0 in the World Championships, which was played in Auckland, New Zealand.

The IMG coach compares him to “Brad Miller in his prime.”