PITTSBURGH — Sean Johnson watched the steady stream of teammates bolt the Duquesne basketball program last spring following a power struggle with former coach Ron Everhart and made a promise to himself to not abandon the program.

“Guys left, I stayed,” the senior guard said. “I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to go through all that.”

Besides, Johnson felt there was still too much work to be done, beating Pittsburgh near the top of the list.

Johnson will get his final crack at the Panthers on Wednesday in the 81st edition of the City Game as the Dukes try to end an 11-year losing streak to their crosstown rivals.

“I really want to go out and win,” Johnson said. “Everybody is going to have to be on point. I just can’t win it by myself.”

Probably not a good idea considering Johnson would basically be going one-on-10. The Panthers (7-1) have cruised through the first month of the season behind a deep bench and the precocious play of freshman point guard James Robinson, who is flourishing despite logging a team-high 30 minutes a game.

“We thought he’d be good (but) he’s probably better than what we thought,” Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

A welcome development for a program that lost its way last winter when guard Tray Woodall went down with an abdominal injury in an 80-69 victory over the Dukes. Woodall missed nine of the next 10 games and Pitt stumbled its way out of the NCAA tournament picture for the first time in over a decade.

“It’s rare that (a point guard goes down) and when it does, you’ve got to be in position and we weren’t in position and I knew before going into the season,” Dixon said. “This year we’ve got James who is a seasoned veteran as a freshman. He’s got a great understanding of the game.”

Even if Robinson, who is from the Washington, D.C. suburbs, is still gaining an understanding for what the annual matchup with the Dukes means to his new city.

“We’re going to prepare as if we were playing a team that has won many times against us,” Robinson said.

Something the Dukes haven’t done since well before Robinson and any of his teammates were born. Still, the game remains a vital part of the nonconference schedule for both schools, a fact that will not change even with Pitt going to the ACC next year and Duquesne rebuilding under new coach Jim Ferry.

“This really isn’t about our RPI, it really isn’t about scheduling,” Ferry said. “It’s us against Pitt.”