GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Sometimes, you just have to ride the hot hand.
Guillermo Diaz Graham has been one of the premier stories of this 2023 NCAA Tournament, with the Spanish Canary Island native along with twin brother Jorge Diaz Graham making play after play, highlight after highlight in No. 11-seed Pitt's wins over Mississippi State and Iowa State which have carried their team to the Second Round.
Jeff Capel is not rushing to get Federiko Federiko back into his starting lineup for Sunday's 12:10 p.m. clash in the NCAA Tournament Second Round with No. 3 Xavier, as he is still nursing a right knee injury sustained in the ACC Tournament.
Having Guillermo in at center is not just a welcomed move logistically; it is one which Capel knows Federiko will embrace.
"I don't think it makes a challenge. Not at all," Capel said in Saturday's press conference at Greensboro Coliseum. "One of the great things before our group and especially those two guys is that they're each other's biggest cheerleader. I don't think it's a challenge or an issue at all."
Guillermo made his first two career starts over the week, in each of Pitt's NCAA Tournament games, and has absolutely dazzled. He has averaged 6.0 points on 4-for-13 total shooting, he has gathered 13 total rebounds, blocked five shots, and recorded three steals in the two games. He played a season-high 37 minutes in the First Four win over Mississippi State.
"It really makes you smile and appreciate what hard work does because they're really basketball guys," Blake Hinson said. "Like, you know, freshmen in college you would expect partying and all that ... The only thing I know about them is they're always in the gym, and I know they can play with each other with their eyes on a blindfold. They're really good. They're really all about basketball, and that type of stuff shows when they get the opportunity."
Guillermo's national, coming-out party officially was in Friday's 59-41 win over Iowa State, in which he made 3 of 5 shots from the field -- including a "Guillermo Three-iaz Graham," as it's more affectionately known (by me), to open the game -- while doing all of the dirty work inside on another team which makes its bread and butter from the paint. Guillermo gathered eight rebounds and blocked three shots, and he was the beneficiary of a little driveway basketball on a give-and-go from his brother which took the roof off of the Coliseum in the second half:
🇪🇸 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/aG0WrQE4hB
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) March 17, 2023
In case you're wondering how much fun the freshmen Diaz Graham twins are having, the play prompted Jorge to question whether he should be Pitt's point guard:
PG Jorge 🤔 pic.twitter.com/LWZ4WPhxc0
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) March 18, 2023
And, just by speaking with Federiko after Friday's game, you can tell the absolute joy which he gets from seeing the twins shine in this Tournament:
"I'm super happy for him," Federiko said of Guillermo. "I knew he got it. I knew he got it. He stepped up, and he showed everybody."
Capel discovered the Diaz Graham twins via associate coach Tim O'Toole, who discovered the pair at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
The recruiting process thus began last winter.
"That started the communication with them," Capel said. "They came on their official visit after the season was over with. And I'll be honest with you, probably in all of my years of being involved in this as a head coach or an assistant coach, it's right up there with the greatest official visit I've ever been a part of. It was the twins, their family, their mom and dad, and their spouses. The mom and dad are not together, but, man, they're, like, spouses -- their new spouses are best friends. It was unbelievable. It was really great. Just the energy was so positive.
"When they came here, they went -- once they left our place, they actually went to separate places to go visit some other schools separately. I think we were one of the few schools that was recruiting them together. Then, fortunately, we were able to get them. But that's what started the process."
Capel told a funny tale of how he tells the twins apart.
Spoiler: He needs a trick to do so.
"To be honest with you, I can't tell them apart," Capel said. "Here's the way I can tell them apart. In practice one of them wears yellow shoes, one of them wears white. Off the court Guillermo has an earring, Jorge doesn't. That's the only way I can tell them apart."
Regardless of Federiko's health, by this point, Guillermo starting at center could be considered a linear move for Capel. Guillermo can stretch the floor and pop a 3 if needed, while he has done a fair job of containing now-two teams and their inside attacks.
The truTV broadcast of Friday's game said Federiko was diagnosed with a sprained MCL in his right knee, dating to the March 8 ACC Tournament second round against Georgia Tech, but was cleared to play Friday.
Federiko first checked into Friday's game with 13:23 left in the opening half and finished with one point and one rebound while committing three fouls in 11 minutes on the floor. He spent the majority of the game on an exercise bicycle adjacent to the Pitt bench.
His presence, still, was felt on the floor by his teammates.
"We wouldn't be here without Federiko Federiko," Jamarius Burton said Saturday. "He has been our anchor all year. For us to just -- it brings a level of joy to see him back there on the floor with us. You know, he does so many things that don't show up on the stat sheet. Just having him out there again yesterday was big."
Added Nike Sibande: "Man, I agree, man. Fede, he is a force. Obviously everybody knows he has been dealing with an injury, so, you know, to get him back on the floor, man, it shows a testament to his character and who he is as a person, man. He persevered through that and was able to come out and impact the game at a very high level."
But the dynamic of now having two centers playing well -- a healthy Federiko is considered one of the best defensive presences to come out of the ACC -- has given Xavier coach and former Pitt player Sean Miller a new dynamic to prepare for in advance of Sunday. It is more than possible, and perhaps by this point likely, that Guillermo continues to start over Federiko and does again Sunday.
"We've talked a lot about that with our team," Miller said. "I respect him a great deal, and his brother. The one thing is, they're skilled, but, like, their ability to offensive rebound, playing with great effort, block shots, run hard, play hard, it's impressive. I think as they and as he gets stronger, you know, he is going to have a very, very bright future. One of the big reasons that Pitt is here is because of his overall play and improved play. So we recognize that, and we've certainly made our team aware of it."
