PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – In March of 2022, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel wondered if he would have a job. A year later, he was preparing the Panthers for NCAA Tournament games. The 2023-24 season opens Monday night at 7p.
"Last year was building the basement," said Pitt forward Guillermo Diaz Graham. "We are still building the basement, those roots, those values. Now we are working on top of what we did last year. We still want to keep our roots and build on top of that to have a strong structure to last a long time."
Diaz Graham said their mantra is to stay together, show up every day and make no excuses. He believes the program right now is like a family. It's about the people first and then basketball. He believes you find the right teammates; the play will show on the court.
It did last year, the Panthers unexpectedly finished 24-12 winning a pair of NCAA Tournament games. There are several changes from last year, most notably in the backcourt. Gone is the experience, leadership and production of Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott and Nike Sibande.
"We go from four guards that were 22, 23, 24-years-old to now we are going to have two, 18-year-olds in the backcourt," Capel said referring to freshmen Carlton Carrington and Jaland Lowe. "That is very different because those older guys had a lot of experience and they could lean on each other and lean on that experience."
"These guys are new. They are talented and they really want to be good in all of those things. I know there are going to be ups-and-downs with that. I know that. The patience that we have to have as a coaching staff and as an older front court. I want to see how the leadership continues to develop."
Carrington started the exhibition game and was a rebound from leading the team in points, assists and rebounds. Also in the backcourt is Rhode Island transfer Ishmael Leggett, who is expected to start after averaging 12.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and hitting 32% of his three-pointers last year with the Rams. The other new starter to go with Federiko Federiko and Blake Hinson, is forward Zach Austin. Super-athletic at 6'7", played two seasons at High Point University averaging 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and shooting 54% from the field.
Hinson explored leaving for the NBA, but decided to come back and is the unquestioned leader and dropped about 20 pounds to improve his overall game. The Diaz Graham twins have added 10-15 pounds of muscle and Pitt also gets forward Will Jeffress back. He's hasn't played an NCAA game in 20 months and is expected to help with team's defense as an all-around player.
The Panthers expect to be a better defensive team as much because they believe they will be deeper than last year. It might also be out of necessity given the scoring they lost from last season, they might need to ride that defense early.
"For the team, I expect us to be good, together and stronger," Guillermo Diaz Graham said. "I expect us to be a fun team to watch. You've seen how we run. We have guys that can dunk on anyone."
Panthers open with North Carolina A&T Monday at 7p at the Petersen Events Center. It's a Historically Black College and University where Jeff Capel's father started his Division 1 head coaching career for one season.
"He was able to win the MEAC title and get to the NCAA Tournament," Capel said. "They lost in the first round to Arkansas. They probably played Arkansas better than any team besides us (Capel was a freshman on the Duke team that year). We lost to Arkansas in the national championship game."
"It's a school with great tradition and basketball pride."
They have a new coach and a number of transfers and Capel said it's been hard to get tape on them. He won't exactly know what they will face on Monday.
"You can't take nobody lightly, everyone is going to be a challenge," Austin said. "It's basketball. You still go to put the thing in the hoop, regardless of how much they think you are going to win by. You can lose to anybody on any given day."
"We want to win," Capel said of the matchup. "It's certainly not something that I take for granted. We've had moments since I've been the head coach where we've lost these games. That's the very first thing, I want to win. Just as important, I want to see continued growth from our basketball team. I think we can be pretty good, but there are some things we have to do to get better."
Capel hopes for a good turnout at the Pete on Monday, saying that home court became an advantage for them last year. You can hear the game on 93.7 The Fan starting with pregame at 6:30p with the Voice of the Panthers Bill Hillgrove and Panthers great Curtis Aiken.
