Pitt basketball opens its fourth season under head coach Jeff Capel against The Citadel Tuesday night at the Petersen Events Center.
But despite Capel's efforts that included bringing in two four-star recruits last year, the Panthers find themselves searching for answers on their roster before the season opener. That's not only after losing five players to the Transfer Portal last season and seeing Pitt's first ever First Team All-ACC forward Justin Champagnie go to the NBA, but also after the roster suffered loss after loss just before the season began.
Pitt tried to answer the losses to the Transfer Portal with additions of its own, but arguably its biggest get from their three additions, Jamarius Burton suffered an injury during the summer and has been working his way back to being fully healthy. Capel did say in his Monday press conference that Burton has participated in non-contact drills but has yet to take on any contact drills and will not play Tuesday. But Burton has been said to be day-to-day, which might lead to him being available within the month.
Last Monday, Pitt lost senior combo guard Nike Sibande in its only exhibition of the season against Gannon when the senior guard tore his ACL on an attempted jump stop. And most recently, starting shooting guard Ithiel Horton was suspended indefinitely Monday after he was arrested Saturday morning in the South Side of Pittsburgh for allegedly striking a police officer after a dispute with a tow truck driver.
Those are a lot of tough losses to stomach.
Now, Pitt gets one game against a mid-major conference team in The Citadel, who finished 13-12 last season before it faces West Virginia Friday night. Normally, such a game would be considered a tune-up for the Panthers. But as Capel has tried to resurrect the program from the days of Kevin Stallings, that hasn't been the case. Although Pitt opened the 2018-2019 season with six wins and 2019-2020 with a win over Florida State, the Panthers have suffered early tough losses to mid-majors like Nicholls State in 2019-2020 and Saint Francis (PA) in 2020-2021. The Panthers will need to play a disciplined game to come out on top against an opponent the program would've regularly beaten in recent seasons.
• What: Pitt (0-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. The Citadel (0-0, 0-0 SOC)
• When: 7:02 p.m. Eastern
• Where: Petersen Events Center
• TV: ACC Network Extra / ESPN+
• Radio: 93.7 The Fan
• Satellite: Sirius XM (Internet) 986
• Boxscore: Sidearm Sports
• Media notes: Pitt | The Citadel
Top storylines
Shorthanded: Pitt basketball wasn't expected by many to go far this season, but the hopes that things could turn around were based in the experience returning for the Panthers' backcourt. Sibande and Horton being out wipe out most of that experience, and Burton's injury takes his leadership qualities and experience from his years playing with Texas Tech. That's three contributors Capel reasonably thought could be game changers for the Panthers gone in the matter of weeks, leaving the roster bare.
But those limitations put the spotlight on Pitt's remaining players, and especially Capel's 2020 class of recruits. Capel pulled in five freshman before last season with two being four-star recruits in forward John Hugley IV and forward William Jeffress. Pitt saw a rise in Femi Odukale last season who filled in at point guard for Xavier Johnson a lot, averaging 20.4 minutes, 6.6 points and 2.2 assists per game coming off the bench.
Hugley only played seven games before his suspension from the team ended his season, but looked like a physical presence that might give the Panthers muscle in the paint the program has been missing for years. Jeffress was a talking point all last season for being so young at 17 years old, but only averaged 2.4 points and 17.1 minutes across his 16 appearances last season. Forward Noah Collier saw limited time across 12 games and center Max Amadasun only played in four games.
All of those players will need to take their opportunities of seeing increased roles seriously, as this season may force several young players to have learning experiences come on the court during important minutes for the Panthers.
“Guys certainly have an opportunity to step up," Capel said Monday. "That’s what they prepare for. That’s what we’re prepared for. They work every day. They’ve had a great offseason. Once we started practice, they’ve improved each and every day. It’s a tremendous opportunity for them. That’s how I look at it.”
Part of stepping up may involve players expanding their roles from last season. Jeffress was used primarily as a small forward for the Panthers as a freshman, but the roster's limited guards could force him to be one of the reinforcements for the backcourt.
“Everyone has to step up a little bit more in his absence," Capel said when asked about filling in for Horton. "We’ve looked at guys in some different positions. We’ll make some adjustments and we’ll be OK. Will Jeffress is a guard. Onye (Onyebuchi Ezeakudo) is a guard. Those guys can do that. Mo (Mouhamadou Gueye) can swing to a wing position for us. We’ll figure it out. We’ll be OK and we’ll adjust."
Need the bigs: It's been a long time since Pitt could say it had an effective paint presence, but efforts have been made in recruiting to change that. Hugley's 6-foot-9, 280 lbs. build should make him a force under the basket. Capel has said Pitt's put efforts into lowering his weight, but his physical style of play would bring an aspect to the Panthers that's been missing.
Last year, Abdoul Karim Coulibaly was the team's primary big man, but he wasn't a consistent defensive or offensive presence underneath and only averaged 4.3 rebounds per game behind Champagnie and Au'Diese Toney. Both Hugley and Gueye have to be part of changing that part of the Panthers' game.
Gueye may get asked to help more as a wing player for the Panthers, but his ability to block shots both defending in the post and coming from off the ball was one of his biggest assets transferring in from Stony Brook. Standing at 6-foot-10, he's a lengthy presence in the paint who can move around the court. His only weighing 200 lbs. would lend itself to him being able to move around the court, but that will mean Hugley's role in the paint might be that much more important.
During Pitt's scrimmage against Gannon, Hugley struggled from the field only hitting 1 of 7 shots and 6 of 11 free throws. His growth on offense will be one of the biggest focus points for the Panthers this season.
“He’s a good offensive player," Capel said of Hugley. "He didn’t play well the other night in our exhibition game, but we have confidence in him."
Behind Gueye and Hugley will be a physical senior off the bench in Dan Oladapo at 6-foot-7, 220 lbs. who transferred from Oakland before this season and Collier at 6-foot-8, 220 lbs. Their provision of bench minutes to give Gueye and Hugley rest could become major stress points during games where opponents challenge Pitt's defense underneath and either Gueye or Hugley get into foul trouble.
All that, on top of the Panthers' missing players in the backcourt, put a lot more pressure on the Panthers' forwards and centers to play consistent, physical and disciplined basketball.
Players to watch
Femi Odukale: Odukale was Pitt's best freshman last season and looked to have improved even more in the Panthers' scrimmage against Gannon. He led the team with 20 points, shooting 6 of 10 from the field while also grabbing seven rebounds and adding three assists and three steals to close out the game. Odukale has been noted by players like Gueye to have stepped up as a young leader for the Panthers, but Capel emphasized Monday that he's not changing his coaching approach to Odukale despite the Panthers missing three important guards.
“I want Femi to be himself," Capel said when asked if Odukale. "I haven’t had a conversation like that. I think he’s playing really well and I want him to continue to play well and just be him. That’s it.”
Odukale at point guard is a big change of pace from what Xavier Johnson brought in recent seasons. Whereas Johnson was always the player to push the ball and attack the basket, Odukale tends to work more of a mix between running Pitt's half-court offense and driving when the opportunity presents itself.
That balance could be tested in the early games for Pitt while waiting for the return of Burton and other young players work to develop their abilities on the court. Watch for how Odukale plays in this game and if he starts to force the issue when the Panthers struggle offensively.
Mouhammadou Gueye: Veteran leadership is something Capel is short of on his roster, especially with Horton and SIbande gone. But during Pitt's scrimmage, Gueye looked like he would be that kind of player on and off the court. Whenever a whistle gave Pitt time to recover during a stoppage, Gueye was often the first player to lead the Panthers to a huddle on the court. He also looked like the most comfortable in his role for the Panthers as he was the only player with a double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
"He's a really talented guy," Capel said of Gueye. "Obviously his defense with the ability to block and impact shots stood out. You've got this long athlete that at times made these wild plays and we thought with his length and versatility he would really help our team especially paired beside John. A lot of his block shots come from off the ball with him coming over and helping. He's better offensively than we thought and he's put in a lot of work there."
Outside of Gueye's ability to help on defense and his versatile scoring ability that includes three point shooting, what may be most telling of his time at Pitt could be how he rallies the team through difficult moments. Pitt often fell victim to long scoring runs by opponents last year that would put the Panthers into insurmountable deficits. If Gueye can help his teammates address where they're falling short quicker, it could limit those runs and help the Panthers be closer to opponents later in games.
But for Tuesday night, look for Gueye to be the guy who gets the offense going in various ways. If Pitt falls into shooting dry spells, expect him to be the player who comes through to help end those droughts and get the team back on track.
Behind enemy lines
Experienced scorer: The Citadel gets its leading scorer back from last season in graduate forward Hayden Brown. He averaged 18.8 points per game last season, hit over 50 percent of his field goals and averaged 10.5 rebounds per game. He will be the centerpiece for the Bulldogs, something that Capel made sure to reference in his opening statement Monday.
"We’re playing against a team that had a winning record last year that returns some guys that are good players," Capel said. "They play an up-tempo style of basketball. They have the preseason conference player of the year (Brown) back."
Brown could find himself matched up with several of Pitt's younger players at 6-foot-5, 225 lbs. Expect players like Jeffress, Chris Payton, and Oladapo to match up with Brown as the game continues. Brown might also be the primary player Gueye has his eyes on while guarding his own assignments, as Gueye was known for coming to help other defenders to record blocks in his defense for Stony Brook.
"The kid Brown is the preseason player of the year," Capel continued. "He’s an elite-level rebounder. He’s an elite-level competitor. He scores. He pushes it in transition. He’s a really, really good player.”
How Pitt handles Brown could be an early test for how disciplined Capel can get his young team to play on defense.
Defend perimeter, get boards: Capel made sure to mention how The Citadel likes to play fast-paced basketball in his Monday press conference, noting that their pace was among the fastest in college basketball.
That pace also comes with the 720 three-point attempts shot by The Citadel last season, which was 16th-most in all of college basketball last season. Their .356 three-point shooting percentage is about average, but that volume of shooting will become a challenge if Pitt can't keep the Bulldogs' pace in check.
Keys to doing that will be forcing contested shots with disciplined defense and grabbing rebounds to limit second chances to get up that many three-pointers. The Citadel averaged just 9.5 offensive rebounds per game last season, which isn't a daunting number. But defensive rebounds for Pitt wasn't a strong point for the Panthers as they averaged 25.6 per game, ranking 164th in the country.
If Pitt can see Gueye, Hugley and company limit second chances for The Citadel, it will lessen the volume of three-point shots they tend to put up, and most likely keep the Panthers safe from any long runs.
Prediction: Pitt 70-60
Despite all of Pitt's losses, this game is still one the Panthers should control. There will be tense times and The Citadel may even keep it close or lead at halftime, but I expect the Panthers to be able to stick to the basics and find a way to force a mid-major team to play like it and miss several shots.
After that, it will all be about finding out who the scorers will be for the Panthers this season. We already knew Pitt would be missing its top three scorers from last season with Champagnie in the NBA and Toney and Johnson leaving in the Tranfer Portal, but now Horton and Sibande are gone as the team's fourth and fifth top scorers last season.
That means new players are going to have to find rhythm within an offense, and it could be an ugly display of shooting. The Panthers' best way of neutralizing those problems would be to defend on their end and then capitalize on more transition buckets for easier scoring runs while working for good shots on their end.
The Panthers did average 12.7 offensive rebounds per game last season, which was 21st-most in the country. If Capel can work that magic back into this group with a bigger group of forwards, it would go a long way to countering Pitt's expected shooting and offensive struggles.
