PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He could be a game-changer for Pitt basketball as the Panthers look to get All-ACC forward John Hugley back for its next game Wednesday night.
Panthers head coach Jeff Capel said ‘it’s looking like he will’ play but there is another day of practice to see how he responds. Then it will be how he feels after the couple of workouts and what the trainers tell him. He would obviously play limited minutes.
Monday was the first day Hugley did full-court work and Capel said ‘he did some good things.’ The 6’9”, 240-pound junior started practice on Monday, September 26 and by September 30th was out with the knee injury. So they’ve only played together in a controlled environment for four practices.
“We’ve gotten used to playing a certain way without him,” Capel said. “We have to adjust and he has to adjust.
I know it’s going to take time.”
“He gives us a guy that we can throw the ball inside to and he can score. He can draw a lot of attention. How well will he be able to do that right away because of the rust, because of the rhythm of a game, because of the timing?”
The appeal with Hugley is not a guy with nine double-doubles last year, who averaged nearly eight rebounds a game and nearly 15 points a game. Teams have to defend him and when they do, he’s improved at kicking it out to open shooters. The Panthers believe they have much better options from three this year than at any point under Capel.
Pitt will play Michigan, and All-American 7-footer Hunter Dickinson, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn at 6p on Wednesday. Panthers pregame begins at 5:30p on 93.7 The Fan.