Keith Benjamin spent most of last season as Pitt's starting shooting guard, so he has a pretty fair understanding of what the team's three returning starters are looking for in his replacement.

After playing in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am in Green Tree this summer against the three players who are competing to earn the starting job he vacated, Benjamin believes one of them has the inside track to join point guard Levance Fields in the starting backcourt.

Benjamin likes the experience of sophomore Brad Wanamaker and the shooting ability of freshman Ashton Gibbs, but he sees junior-college transfer Jermaine Dixon as someone who can be an impact player when the Panthers begin the season in a few months.

"I like Jermaine a lot," Benjamin said Monday night between games in Green Tree. "He's a tough kid, plays great defense. He can shoot the ball. I think he might be the starting shooting guard. He's very ready to play college basketball, not like any other junior-college player who has come through here. He's ready to play Division I basketball. He's always in the gym.

"Jermaine can come in and average 9 or 10 points a game. He's very good at creating contact and getting fouled. He gets my thumbs-up. Look for him to have a great season."

Dixon said he isn't hung up on becoming a starter. "All I want to do is win," he said.

But he does believe he can contribute in a big way to a team that has, if not a glaring weakness, at the very least a big question at shooting guard.

"I think I can come in and contribute right away," he said. "Coach [Jamie] Dixon wants you to play defense and I like to play defense. Plus, they have a big hole to fill. They have great pieces around it. I just want to be another of the pieces."

Jermaine Dixon has been perhaps the most impressive member of Pitt's incoming recruiting class, but he still faces some stiff competition during the preseason from Wanamaker and Gibbs, both of whom have been playing well throughout the summer.

While Dixon is known as a slasher who creates offense from his penetration, Gibbs and Wanamaker have been two of the league's most consistent outside shooters.

Gibbs led the league at 55.6 percent from 3-point range; Wanamaker was fifth at 44.8 percent.

"That's always been my threat, as a shooter," said Gibbs, a 6-foot-2 freshman from Seton Hall Prep. "I've been shooting from the 3-point line my whole life. I try to start from there, take whatever the defender gives me and take advantage of it."

Wanamaker was not known as a shooter last season. He shot just 16.7 percent (3 for 18) from behind the 3-point arc as a freshman. To improve his shot over the summer, Wanamaker has made it his mission to shoot hundreds of jump shots each day.

He believes his improved shot and his experience will help him in the competition.

"Right now I'm more comfortable with myself because I have confidence that I can hit the open shots," he said. "Last year, when I went into games, I was always thinking a little too much. This year, I'm more focused on going out there and doing what I do best."

When it comes time to pick a player rotation and divide playing time this season, coach Jamie Dixon could employ a scenario where all three are used in conjunction. Each has something different that he brings to Pitt's equation.

The wild card in this is Mike Cook, who is awaiting word from the NCAA about receiving a sixth season of eligibility. If Cook receives a sixth year, and presuming he is fully recovered from a major knee injury, Gilbert Brown could be forced into the mix at shooting guard because Cook would likely hold onto his starting position at small forward.

But if Cook is denied a sixth season or he is unable to play because of health reasons, it will be up to Jermaine Dixon, Gibbs and Wanamaker to solidify the shooting-guard spot.

"Ashton has a better shot than all of us," Wanamaker said. "Jermaine is more of a slasher than me and Ashton, but all three of us bring something different to the table.

"It's going to be tough. Everyone wants to play. When it comes down to it, I think all of us will have our chance to play. We're going out there every day working hard and making each other better."