Pittsburgh is hoping for a mid-November return for senior shooting guard Jermaine Dixon, who refractured his right foot and had to undergo surgery to repair the break.
Dixon is the Panthers' top returning scorer. He averaged 8.4 points as a starter on the team that earned the school's first-ever No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed and reached the Elite Eight. The other four starters from that 31-5 team completed their careers.
Dixon had a broken fifth metatarsal and had bone graft surgery Wednesday. Pitt's medical staff estimates his recovery will require a minimum of eight weeks. Pitt's first game is Nov. 13 against Wofford. Dixon had injured the same bone in July.
"We fully expect Jermaine to make a full recovery," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said in a statement. "The surgery was a success and we know that Jermaine will work hard during the rehabilitation process."
Pitt already had lost wing Gilbert Brown for the fall semester as the result of a suspension. When the Panthers begin fall practice Oct. 16, they'll be without six of their top seven scorers from last season's team. The most productive player still available is junior guard Brad Wanamaker, who averaged 5.8 points.
Mike DeCourcy is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.
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