Panthers in the Pro’s: Steve Adams

Pitt basketball alum Steve Adams is making Jamie Dixon and the entire campus proud only one game into the season. Not only was he named a starter, but also had the game saving block.

Adams played just one season for Dixon, so he never was able to become a Panther legend. However, he has quietly been proving how valuable of a player he is at the NBA level. After being selected with the number 12 overall pick by Oklahoma City in 2013 he showed some solid promise for a rookie with his rebounding and defense. His second season he forced to start for much of the season due to injuries and his performance during that disappointing year for the Thunder was good enough for him to be named the starter this year over the highly paid Enes Kanter.

Big Kiwi has been making his mark primarily on the defensive end, like he did at Pitt when he averaged two blocks per games. That is exactly why he has been named to the starting unit. Oklahoma City already has proven scorers in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Serge Ibalka, Adams provides the physicality on the block that championship caliber teams need.

This is great to see, as Adams will help Dixon for future recruiting purposes. Much like guys named Lamar Patterson and DeJaun Blair who are also in the league, Adams proves to kids that Dixon does have the ability to get them to the next level. Pitt needs that more and more if they want to compete with the top tier teams of the ACC.

Hopefully Steve Adams can continue to show a knack for making timely plays, like that game saving block. He deserves it after all the hard work he consistently puts in.