Jeff Capel has the Panthers ready to pounce on the ACC. Let’s take a look at Coach Capel’s 2024-25 squad for a Pittsburgh basketball preview. With Carlton Carrington and Blake Hinson now in the NBA, Pitt will need some new scoring options. Due to a weak out-of-conference schedule in 2023-24, the Panthers failed to make the NCAA tournament. Can Capel guide his team past the round of 32 for the first time in his coaching career?
Pittsburgh Basketball Preview: Panthers Ready to Pounce on ACC
Steel City’s Recent Struggles
It’s been 15 years since Pittsburgh lost to Villanova in the Elite Eight of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Things aren’t trending downward for the program, but it would be nice to get past the second round of the tournament for the first time in over a decade. Sure, they should’ve punched their ticket last year after finishing ahead of Clemson, who did make the tournament, in the ACC standings. At the same time, Pitt lost to Clemson twice so it made sense that the Tigers got picked over them. An embarrassing loss to Missouri didn’t help the Panthers’ tournament chances either. With just two incoming transfers this offseason, Pittsburgh will look to elevate some of their guys from last year into a higher role.
Incoming Transfers New to the Zoo
Cameron Corhen and Damian Dunn are the only two transfers joining the Panthers for the upcoming season. Corhen spent two seasons playing for Florida State where he never saw consistent minutes, but he did provide some highlights. The former Seminole was fifth in the ACC last year in two-point field goal percentage and 12th in offensive rebound percentage, at 63.6% and 9.4% respectively. Dunn is more of a veteran presence, having spent four seasons at Temple and then one at Houston. Dunn shined especially bright during his American Athletic Conference days. The Kinston, NC native ended his AAC career 12th all-time in free throws made with 350 total, finishing ahead of players such as Marcus Sasser and Tristen Newton. Capel chose quality over quantity with his transfers, and it should pay off as he’ll look to both Dunn and Corhen to mentor their younger teammates.
Pitt 2024-25 Freshmen
Brandin Cummings, Amdy Ndiaye, Amsal Delalic, and Liam Mignoga make up the Pittsburgh 2024-25 freshman class. Cummings is ranked 141st nationally and fifth in the state of Pennsylvania. The combo guard chose Pitt over offers from Creighton and South Carolina. Ndiaye is ranked 246th nationally, while being ranked third among prospects in Connecticut. Delalić, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, played professionally in Bosnia and represented his country internationally in 2022 in a qualifier against France. Mignoga will join the team as a preferred walk-on, and being from the ‘Burgh, he could one day be a hometown hero like DeJuan Blair was for the City of Champions.
Pittsburgh Basketball Schedule Preview
The Panthers will begin their 2024-25 season by hosting Radford, Murray State, and Gardner-Webb. After that, Pitt will partake in the annual backyard brawl against rival West Virginia. They’ll start the Greenbrier Tip-Off at home against VMI, head to White Sulphur Springs to take on LSU, then conclude the invitational against UCF or Wisconsin. Capel and company will hit the road to face Ohio State in Columbus before the SEC-ACC Challenge, where they’ve been paired up against Mississippi State. Finally, they’ll end their non-conference schedule at the Pete against Eastern Kentucky and Sam Houston. As per usual, the ACC portion of their schedule will be tough with the conference at an all-time competitive high.
