PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – When you look at a map of college basketball-Durham, Lexington, East Lansing, Lawrence are not only historic, but current destinations. There are others and Panthers players believe they added Pittsburgh after this season.
“We put Pitt back on the map, so we're definitely proud of what we did here,” said guard Nelly Cummings. “The future is really bright because the coaching staff and everybody in this program, they all have a belief about themselves that can translate to guys who come in, like transfers like me.”
“We're definitely leaving it better than we found it, and that's the goal,” said guard Jamarius Burton. “As seniors, as guys in our last year. The future is bright. We put Pitt on the national stage. They're going to be able to get transfers out of the portal, and it's up to the guys that come in to believe in Coach and believe in the program and take it from here.”
“We definitely brought Pitt back to, you know, a national stage to where it has a lot of attention now,” said guard Nike Sibande. “So I think in our future it's going to be bright for Pitt. I think a lot of people should come here and believe in Coach. He did an amazing job this year with this group, and I appreciate everything, every experience we had this year for sure.”
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“The future is definitely bright for Pitt basketball because we have Coach Capel at the helm,” said guard Greg Elliott. “He wasn't ACC Coach of the Year for nothing. He knows what he is doing. You know, like they just said, we're back on a national stage now. Everybody knows who Pitt is again. So if you want to come make noise, why wouldn't you come to Pitt?”
It’s not just being on a national stage, but Blake Hinson said it’s a team that beat all odds and did it without publicly calling out the people who didn’t believe. He said they handled it with class and made the university and city proud.
“We did everything they thought we wouldn’t,” Hinson said. “People would have laughed if you would have told them in the beginning of the season we would be here now.”
Hinson added this group, players and staff, changed his life. It’s what makes the end so tough, but the overall experience so rewarding. The Florida native said this team, the third of his career, accepted him and allowed him to be a big part of it.
Pittsburgh native Aiden Fisch has been with Capel his entire college life. The pre-med student started as a manager, added as a walk-on player and then this year getting a scholarship. He grew up going to Pitt basketball camps and said of this connection.
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“It was deeper than basketball,” Fisch said. “It was truly a brotherhood. All we cared about was each other and our success. The fact that we fought and brought Pitt back means the world to us.”
“We all came in here at the same time and no one believed in us,” Elliott said. “At the end of this for everybody to be excited for what we did and we just lost, people are excited for what we did all year, that feels great.”
“The bond that we were able to develop has been tremendous, and it's something we're all going to take for the rest of our lives,” Burton said. “Each war that we've all been in has taught us lessons, and it's going to be something that we can teach our kids one day.”
“It's been an amazing experience, and it's something we can hang on to and learn from for the rest of our lives and our future,” Sibande said. “So it's going to be amazing when we can bring our kids back to Pittsburgh. We've got a banner now saying we made March Madness, so that's something we can bring them back to and show them. I wish we could have made it farther, but it's been an amazing experience to be here for sure.”
“I definitely connected with the fan base and the City of Pittsburgh,” Elliott said. “I wanted to say thank you. Y’all welcomed me with open arms when you didn’t have to and I truly appreciate that. I want to say thank you.”
As Fisch said before getting back to some final moments with his teammates.
“Anytime you are having a bad day, think back to days of Pitt basketball going to the NCAA Tournament, baby.”