Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 131
Pitt running back V’Lique Carter enters NCAA transfer portal
Running back V’Lique Carter, who made his Pitt freshman debut in 2018 by rushing for 137 yards and two touchdowns against Duke, said Tuesday he has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal with the intent of transferring. As a sophomore in 2019, Carter was part of a crowded Pitt running back...
Pitt hopes Victory Heights will raise bar for athleticsVideo
Alonzo Webb has been a coach without a home for each of his 18 years leading the Pitt track and field/cross country programs. The longest-tenured coach on campus, he’s sat in meetings with multiple athletic directors who spoke hopefully of building his team the track that disappeared and never resurfaced...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel warns players, parents about too much basketball
Jeff Capel encourages young people, including and especially his 7-year-old son Elijah, to enjoy playing basketball. But the Pitt coach issued a warning Monday to parents and players that too much of a good thing isn’t necessarily for the best. The subject surfaced on the ACC coaches conference call Monday...
Pitt hopes to find its legs after exhausting loss to MiamiVideo
Jeff Capel made a thought-provoking observation after Pitt’s loss at Miami. “I thought we were exhausted,” he said Sunday night moments after Miami’s 66-58 victory. That’s a disturbing comment, especially with Pitt (11-5, 2-3 ACC) facing two more games in the next five days, starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday against...
Pitt prepares to announce plans for Victory Heights training facility
Pitt will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Petersen Events Center to reveal plans for Victory Heights, a training facility proposed by athletic director Heather Lyke in 2018 for the university’s upper campus. Lyke will be joined by Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. Also expected to attend are coaches...
Sources: Former Pine-Richland and Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec commits to Boston College
Phil Jurkovec wasn’t a free agent for long. Three days after his name appeared in the NCAA transfer portal, the Pine-Richland graduate and former Notre Dame quarterback will enroll at Boston College, two sources confirmed. Jurkovec committed to Boston College coach Jeff Hafley on his visit Saturday. Jurkovec was one...
How freshman Maceo Austin sets the tone for Duquesne men’s basketballVideo
There are a variety of reasons Duquesne will carry a 13-2 record into George Washington on Saturday. Among them: • Six players average at least nine points, led by junior forward Marcus Weathers (14.4), who is converting 60.6% of his shots. • Point guard Sincere Carry willingly guards the other...
Strength coach Dave Andrews leaving Pitt for Iowa State
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has described strength and conditioning coach Dave Andrews as “a highly disciplined coach who instills toughness in our entire program.” Now, Andrews will attempt to do the same for the Iowa State football program. Iowa State coach Matt Campbell announced Friday that Andrews will join the...
Pirates sign catcher John Ryan Murphy to minor-league contract
The catcher’s position was an offseason concern for the Pittsburgh Pirates, especially after they decided not to bring back Elias Diaz. The new management team addressed that personnel shortage by signing two free-agent catchers, including the most recent addition, John Ryan Murphy, 28. He signed a minor-league contract and will...
Robert Morris men’s basketball cruises past St. Francis BrooklynVideo
Andy Toole has been at Robert Morris long enough to remember when people didn’t return his phone calls. That was when he was an assistant under Mike Rice, and the program was just starting to carve out a niche in the world of college basketball. Now, as he wades through...
Pirates sign former Tampa Bay outfielder Guillermo Heredia
The Pittsburgh Pirates started shoring up their outfield depth Thursday — and perhaps preparing for a trade of center fielder Starling Marte — when they signed light-hitting Guillermo Heredia to a one-year contract. General manager Ben Cherington announced the signing Thursday evening. Heredia, a four-year veteran who will turn 29...
Central Catholic’s Gusty Sunseri commits to Pitt
Central Catholic linebacker/safety Gusty Sunseri will attend Pitt and join the football team as a preferred walk-on, he announced Thursday morning on his Twitter account. Sunseri, 6-foot, 200 pounds, was a first-team selection last season on the Pennsylvania Football News 6A all-state team. COMMITTED #H2P @coachcsanders @Pitt_FB @CoachDuzzPittFB pic.twitter.com/nk7Fo45Md6— Gusty...
Pine-Richland’s Phil Jurkovec enters NCAA transfer portal
Pine-Richland graduate and Notre Dame backup quarterback Phil Jurkovec has placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal and will look to leave the Irish this year, according to a source close to the situation. Placing his name in the portal does not guarantee he will leave Notre Dame, but...
Pitt rewards Jeff Capel with contract extension through 2026-27
Pitt on Wednesday made an impressive commitment to basketball coach Jeff Capel, announcing a two-year contract extension that carries him through the 2026-27 season. Capel, who was hired to replace Kevin Stallings after the 2017-18 season, took a Pitt team that was 8-24 and winless in the ACC and led...
Could victory against North Carolina launch Pitt to greater heights?
Six years ago in Pitt’s first ACC Tournament game, the Panthers ventured deep onto the conference footprint and defeated North Carolina, 80-75, in Greensboro Coliseum. Jamie Dixon’s team repeated the victory a year later, 89-76, at Petersen Events Center. Enjoy the memory, Pitt fans. North Carolina has won the past...
Duquesne’s Keith Dambrot seeks improved long-range shootingVideo
Keith Dambrot can diagram plays, teach players the proper way to a beat a ball screen and implore them to play better defense and hit the boards harder. In short, do all those things coaches do while trying to build a winning team. But Duquesne’s coach also knows those backboards...
Pirates name former Tigers minor-league manager Mike Rabelo assistant hitting coach
The Pittsburgh Pirates made the final appointment to their coaching staff Tuesday when general manager Ben Cherington named Mike Rabelo assistant hitting coach. Rabelo, 39, was a manager in the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for six seasons, most recently with the Double-A Erie SeaWolves in 2019. He led the SeaWolves...
Pitt wide receiver Cameron O’Neil will transfer
Wide receiver Cameron O’Neil, who was an all-state player in Alabama in 2017 before coming to Pitt, has decided to transfer. O’Neil redshirted in 2018 and did not appear in any games this season. He was not part of the rotation at wide receiver that included seniors Maurice Ffrench and...
When Pitt comes to North Carolina, coach Roy Williams seeks more than historic winVideo
Roy Williams has presided over 1,119 college basketball games — not counting 11 seasons when he was a Dean Smith assistant at North Carolina. He needs one victory to pass Smith and stand fourth among Division I men’s coaches, behind Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and Bob Knight. Historic...
Pitt acted swiftly to get transfer quarterback Joey Yellen on board
Quarterback Joey Yellen wasn’t in the transfer portal long last month before Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple reached out to him. And, now, Yellen, a transfer from Arizona State, finds himself in Whipple’s meeting room, hoping to one day take snaps from center in Pitt’s offense. The Tribune-Review and other...
Duquesne survives Davidson comeback, comes away with victoryVideo
Duquesne has a long road to travel before coach Keith Dambrot can say, “We’re back.” But some of the ingredients were there Sunday when the Dukes defeated Atlantic 10 opponent Davidson, 71-64. The Dukes now stand 12-2 overall, the school’s best start in 48 years, after winning their first two...
Pitt wastes big lead in loss to Wake ForestVideo
The question facing Pitt on Saturday after its 69-65 loss to Wake Forest was this: What was more distressing? • Losing to what looks to be a second-tier ACC team. Wake Forest (8-5, 1-2) came into the game ranked 106th in the NCAA Net rankings, 12th in the 15-team conference....
Pitt forward Au’Diese Toney will miss Wake Forest game with elbow injury
Sophomore forward Au’Diese Toney, who has missed only nine starts in 45 career games, injured his elbow in practice this week and will not play Saturday when Pitt resumes ACC play against Wake Forest at Petersen Events Center. Toney’s absence will be a blow to coach Jeff Capel, who has...
3 thoughts to ponder while Pitt returns to ACC action vs. Wake Forest
Two games into the ACC season with a third upcoming Saturday against Wake Forest at Petersen Events Center, there is talk around town of Pitt playing beyond the conference tournament. That hasn’t happened since Jamie Dixon left town nearly four years ago. Pitt vs. Duquesne in the NIT, anyone? OK,...
Duquesne survives Saint Louis rally to record victory in Atlantic 10 openerVideo
While winning its Atlantic 10 opener against Saint Louis, 73-59, on Thursday night, Duquesne did all the things teams do when they win. • They shot well. Marcus Weathers, who is shooting 74% from the field in the past five games, recorded a career-high 26 points while hitting 8 of...
