I hate revisionism. The play of Sam Young and now Keith Benjamin have people second-guessing their usage in 2006-07.

Q: In light of the current play by last year’s bench players, doesn’t it make you wonder what could have been if coach Dixon would have let these guys (Benjamin & Young) play more last year? The outside game they bring is exactly what we were missing in the NCAA tournament. I think he had more loyalty to Levon Kendall than he to developing the younger players.

Mike Nixon, Libertyville, Ill.

FITTIPALDO: You might have a point, Mike, but you have to remember that Young was not completely healthy last season. He had problems with both knees that prevented him from being the player he is now. If Young had been healthy all season, I believe he would have received more playing time.

Benjamin is someone who is thriving with more playing time. This is the first time he has ever been in position to play 30-plus minutes per game. I guess you can say Benjamin deserved more minutes last season, but at whose expense? Ramon? Graves? They both played vital roles on a team that advanced to the Sweet 16.

Dixon is going to have an interesting dilemma on his hands when Fields is healthy enough to return to the lineup. Does he send Benjamin back to the bench? Or does he have Fields come off the bench? I suppose these types of problems are nice to have. It means you have players who are playing well and deserving of playing time.

For whatever reason, the other obvious possibility is having Ramon coming off the bench. As he was before the injuries. Several other points.

Even while Young was struggling to get healthy, Pitt was trying to get him more time. The early 2006 experiment was to play Young at the small forward. That would have gotten him on the court more as spelling both Kendall at PF and Cook at SF. We now know he was hobbling, but he wasn’t comfortable at the small forward. Struggling, especially, on the defensive end. Ultimately, if he wants to make the NBA, he has to look to that position. With his range showing this year, he has a chance.

Prior to this season, Bejamin never showed the shooting touch, patience, or restraint. He also struggled in defensive assignments, because he was more eager to work the offensive end. I know the contra argument is that he was only getting limited minutes, and was looking to make them count and show what he could do. The problem with that, is it only got him yanked faster when he’d rush down the court and hoist a shot. It finally seemed to get through to him this year. Even before he got into the starting line-up with injuries, he was just playing within the team. So much better.

Finally, both Young and Benjamin are better and like playing much more up-tempo. The team’s configuration last year with Aaron Gray just wouldn’t work that way. In that respect, Levon Kendall was a much better compliment inside.

Look at the numbers last year. Young shot .458 from the field and .310 on 3s. I know, I howled “NO!” when Young hoisted from outside last year. Benjamin was even more brutal — .420 from the field and .255 on 3s, not to mention below 50% on free throws.

Keep perspective.