01:00 AM EST on Sunday, December 12, 2004

Want to know which college basketball program has earned the title King of New York?

It's certainly not St. John's, a program headed for probation and looking at several rebuilding years under first-year coach Norm Roberts.

It's also not Seton Hall or Rutgers, two schools that grab their fair share of New York-New Jersey players but can't quite lock up the choice chops.

Connecticut could've put in a strong claim this year, but Ben Gordon (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) went pro a year early and freshman guard A.J. Price (Amityville, N.Y.) is injured and hasn't suited up yet this year.

Villanova has five key players from the metropolitan area but so far Allan Ray, Curtis Sumpter and company have delivered more disappointment than success.

Syracuse and Providence have a few New Yorkers, but no difference-makers.

The real kings of the city, or New York West as they like to call it, live out in Pittsburgh. That school's hoop revival has turned on the shoulders of New Yorkers, the ones who can back up the hype that always seems to flow out of the mouths of the city's high school and AAU coaches. The Panthers have six New Yorkers on their roster including two of the Big East's top 10 players in point guard Carl Krauser (Bronx) and center Chris Taft (Brooklyn). Senior big man Mark McCarroll is a key piece to the puzzle, too, and youngsters Keith Benjamin, Ronald Ramon and Dante Milligan will form the core of the Panther backcourt for years to come.

Why is Pittsburgh getting more than its fair share of New York talent? Connections, smart recruiting and the opening of the Petersen Center top the list of answers. Ben Howland, a native of Los Angeles, knew he needed some players from the city and smartly hired some assistants with East Coast ties. He hit the jackpot with Barry Rohrssen, a street-smart Brooklyn native known as "Slice" to his pals. Howland made point guard Brandin Knight (Orange, N.J.) one of his first recruits. When he blossomed into a star the Panthers had a hook into the heart of the Big East.

Rohrssen went to work and hit the jackpot with Krauser and Taft. Krauser was bouncing around the prep school scene with academic problems but Pitt stuck with him. The 6-foot-10 Taft was a prodigy at Brooklyn's Xaverian High, which just happens to be Rohrssen's alma mater. That connection helped Pitt steal Taft away from national programs like North Carolina.

As Howland won oodles of games, Pittsburgh finally replaced Fitzgerald Field House with the $100-million Petersen Events Center. Instantly, the Panthers had the type of premier facility topped only by NBA franchises.

After leading Pitt to the top of the Big East, Howland was romanced by UCLA and returned to his roots. Top assistant Jaime Dixon moved up to the head chair, retained Rohrssen as his go-to recruiter and the beat goes on. Last month, the Panthers signed Tyrell Biggs, a 240-pound bruiser from Newark, N.J. regarded as one of the East's best forwards. Then last week, Rohrssen went back to Xaverian and persuaded New York's top point guard, Levance Fields, to say no to St. John's and come to Pennsylvania.

"He could have gone to St. John's and played right away or he could go to a top-five program at Pitt," Xaverian coach Jack Alesi told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Barry is such a big part of it. Barry is the king of New York."

Can other programs steal the king's clothes? St. John's made some gains on the recruiting trail, but the Red Storm's troubles give the city's best prospects plenty of reason to leave town. Right now, all arrows seem to be pointing to Pittsburgh.