There is quite a bit to like about the Pitt men's basketball roster, but Jeff Capel isn't about to be quick to praise any type of paper champion.
There is a palpable urgency within the walls of the Petersen Events Center for the upcoming Panthers season, and with an impact freshman, touted transfers, and many veteran pieces returning, there is growing optimism that last year's 11-21 record was nothing more than a fluke after nearing the .500 mark and winning a game in the ACC tournament two years ago.
In his first press conference of the season in Oakland, Capel went as far as to say he feels this is the best roster he has had as he enters his fifth season as Pitt's head coach.
"I think so. You look at it on paper, I think so," he said. "But we have to produce. That's the thing."
Capel had a busy offseason in terms of re-stacking his roster. He added coveted four-star guard Dior Johnson -- No. 35 overall in the ESPN 100 -- to star alongside All-ACC honorable mention John Hugley IV, and he took to the transfer portal to bring in guards Nelly Cummings (Colgate) and Greg Elliott (Marquette) and forward Blake Hinson (Iowa State).
This also comes with the arrival of freshman guard Vason Stevenson, and the additions of twin brothers Guillermo Diaz Graham and Jorge Diaz Graham from the IMG Academy in Florida. The Spain natives add a tremendous amount of length and spacing to a lineup full of swingmen with varying abilities inside and out of the perimeter.
"Certainly we've gotten more size," Capel said. "The twins just did that. 7-foot, 6-11, and also with Fede (Federiko) and his length. You've gained experience in the frontcourt with Blake Hinson, a guy that's done it at a high major level and played well when he was at Ole Miss -- I know he hasn't played in two years.
"But Greg Elliott can shoot the basketball, Nelly can shoot the basketball, Blake can shoot the basketball, the twins can shoot the basketball. So we've really tried to add -- that was probably one of the main things we really focused on was being able to make some shots. And hopefully some of our returning guys will be able to do that for us.
"We anticipate John being a guy that still commands a double (team) and is able to draw fouls, and hopefully this year we can have a little bit better shooting around him."
The team will certainly still revolve around Hugley, who paced the team and was 16th in the ACC in scoring (14.8 points per game) and was fourth in the ACC in rebounding (7.9 per game). There will still be much involvement from the returning Jamarius Burton, who played a team-high 34.6 minutes per game and was one of the ACC's best free throw shooters (88%) last season.
"I feel like it's going to help us a lot," Hugley said of the newcomers. "Guys (are) pushing each other in practice. We've got a lot of guards. Guards (are) pushing the guards to be better. I'm pushing our new bigs to be better."
Elliott is coming off of his best season as a college player, having averaged 7.0 points and 1.3 assists in 28 games for Marquette. He redshirted in his sophomore season -- the 2018-19 season -- while nursing a hand injury, but worked back to becoming one of Marquette's top scoring threats last season.
He posted double-digit point totals in six games, including a career-high 25 against DePaul in January. He brings a proven perimeter threat to the Panthers after shooting 42% from 3-point range over his last two seasons.
"I'm a guy that's going to bring a lot of energy offensively, defensively," Elliott said. "I can shoot the basketball. I'm not just a shooter. I can make plays. Ball screen, you take my shot away, I can get to a pull-up. It don't even have to be me shooting. I can be a playmaker for others, as well, so I just want people to get chances to do that."
And, a prominent role that Elliott, Cummings, and the other guards will have to play this season is helping space out the floor.
"Get John space," Elliott said. "Make space for John. That's really it, honestly, because from the film I've watched it's been, you throw the ball to John, it's at least six eyes on him, or eight at times. You can't do that if I'm on the opposite side."
Cummings was an All-Patriot League first-teamer last season after leading the Raiders' league-scoring offense at 14.7 points per game. Hinson missed the 2020-21 season with a non-coronavirus-related medical issue and has not set foot onto the floor for game action since he averaged 10.1 points per game in the 2019-20 season while playing at Ole Miss.
But it's beyond the transfers that should make an immediate impact on the Panthers this season. The Diaz Graham brothers could see minutes right away in the frontcourt, and there's a lot of potential within the two. Guillermo won a championship with Spain's U-20 team in the FIBA European Championships in the summer. He averaged 6.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks while shooting 59.7% from the field over seven games.
"I think any time a kid gets a chance to represent their country, it's something that they should really go after," Capel said. "I was really happy for him that he was able to make that team. He was told initially that he probably wouldn't play that much, and he was challenged by that."
Johnson is considered as one of the best recruits to ever commit to and sign with Pitt, and he has been a feather in Capel's cap in terms of building a roster for the foreseeable future. Capel said Johnson "just fell in our lap at the end."
"It was a lot of work," Capel said of recruiting and hitting the portal. "Lot of phone calls, lot of communication on our part just trying to really make sure we get the right guys that we feel like can help us going forward, that can help us get better as a program, as a basketball team, and to try to take steps forward in building this thing."
But, as Elliott said:
"It's not a rebuild. We're here to make something happen, and it's not -- won't be a surprise to nobody but the people that's on the outside looking in. We're just going to come in and, every day, we're going to build it, brick-by-brick. And that's our goal every day, is to lay that brick. And if we don't do that then we lose. But, I feel like the team, and learning these guys, that's what we're doing."
You can listen to more Panthers hoops analysis in the third segment of this week's H2P Podcast:
