Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 26
Pitt breaks away from Virginia Tech for 79-64 victory
For 48 hours this week, Jeff Capel kept a secret. He knew something about his team that maybe some others didn’t think was possible after Pitt’s sorry performance Tuesday in a loss at Wake Forest. When his players reported to practice Thursday, the past was nothing more than a bad...
Pitt Take 5: Will it be NCAA or NIT for Pitt?
Two recent ACC final scores remind us why college basketball is such a fun and unpredictable game. Check that. Perhaps not so much fun for the teams on the losing ends of those scores. Let’s start with Virginia Tech’s 75-41 victory against Virginia on Monday. The 34-point margin of defeat...
Carnegie Mellon’s Gary Aldrich named throws coach for U.S. team at Paris Olympics
Carnegie Mellon track and field coach Gary Aldrich will make his eighth international coaching assignment this summer at the Paris Olympics as the U.S.A. men’s throws coach, CMU announced Thursday. Aldrich held the same position at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. “It was hard to find the words when I was...
New Pitt assistant Jeremy Darveau talks ball, offensive line with Hall of Famer Jimbo Covert
During one of his first days on the job as an assistant coach on Pat Narduzzi’s staff, Jeremy Darveau found himself in a 15-minute conversation with a member of Pitt’s Board of Trustees. “It was the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Pitt’s new offensive line coach said...
Analysis: Pitt must buckle up for 5 must-win games
Let’s suspend reality for a moment and pretend that Pitt’s 33-point loss at Wake Forest on Tuesday night was, actually, the ACC opener. It’s early December. Pitt fans can use the excuse that the Panthers and their stable of new faces — two freshmen, two transfers — just aren’t used...
Pitt’s winning streak ends in ‘nauseating’ loss to Wake Forest
The opportunity was within Pitt’s grasp Tuesday night to make an authoritative statement in the ACC and seize a more secure spot on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Instead, Pitt turned in its worst performance of the season, allowing Wake Forest to dictate terms, score almost at will and deliver a...
Pitt’s Blake Hinson amazes even his father, the basketball coach who’s seen his act before
When the basketball settled in the cords — after a long flight from the hands that propelled it — Denny Hinson was so amazed by what his son, Blake, had done, he didn’t know what to do. So Denny hugged his wife, Shandris, who covered her mouth to keep from...
Pitt notebook: Blake Hinson’s scoring binges partially tied to short memory
Pitt coach Jeff Capel and Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes understand the degree of difficulty involved in winning Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C. Forbes has spent the better part of the past two days trying to figure out how to slow down Pitt’s Blake Hinson, who is third in the ACC...
Pitt/Wake Forest matchup stands as rich opportunity for winning team
Aware of the reality or not, Pitt and Wake Forest are creeping into national relevance. Which means the prize will be potentially rich for the winner and consequences dire for the loser when those teams meet Tuesday night in Winston-Salem, N.C. You don’t score 41 points — even against a...
Pitt names former Western Carolina assistant JJ Laster wide receivers coach
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi filled the most recent vacancy on his coaching staff Monday when he named JJ Laster as the Panthers’ new wide receivers coach. Laster replaces Tiquan Underwood, who left last week after two seasons at Pitt for a position with the New England Patriots. Underwood is the...
Shift in offensive philosophy at Pitt forces ‘difficult’ staff changes
In the Pitt football offices, the word of the day this winter is fast, and that won’t change in the spring, summer or fall. Pitt will move faster this season, snapping the football perhaps as soon as seven seconds after the previous play. “After spring ball, our guys will say...
What does Pitt need to do to earn an NCAA Tournament berth?
To gauge Pitt’s — or any team’s — chances to reach the NCAA Tournament, you must accept the first commandment of Bracketology: All victories count one in the standings but are not equal. It’s true the Panthers (15-8, 6-6 ACC) have won five of their past six games, six of...
Pitt’s Jorge Diaz Graham has ankle surgery, will miss remainder of season
Pitt sophomore forward Jorge Diaz Graham, who hasn’t played since Jan. 16, is lost for the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery on his left ankle Thursday afternoon. He is expected to return for the 2024-25 season. Diaz Graham was a significant part of coach Jeff Capel’s rotation before...
Pitt beats N.C. State to inch closer to NCAA Tournament bubble
Two years ago, Pitt had lost 12 games in a row to N.C. State, a period spanning most of the Panthers’ time in the ACC. Now, after a 67-64 victory Wednesday night at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., the streak is going the other way. Pitt has won the past...
Pitt notebook: Changes in college football could make NFL a welcome oasis for coaches
Over the past week, the ACC lost two important coaches to the NFL. Former Boston College coach Jeff Hafley jumped to the Green Bay Packers as their defensive coordinator. Charlie Partridge, who had been Pitt’s assistant head coach and defensive line coach since 2017 and was part of the collegiate...
Pitt’s Kade Bell on being an offensive coordinator: ‘It’s what I feel I was put on this earth to do’
At one point Wednesday during his first news conference as Pitt’s offensive coordinator, Kade Bell’s voice cracked, his emotions trickling out noticeably. He was talking about how his father, Kerwin Bell, believed in him as a 24-year-old assistant coach at Valdosta (Ga.) State. “You’re 24 years old and you’re a...
Pitt, N.C. State set to tangle in Raleigh, hoping to polish their reputations
Over the next week that includes two difficult road games, Pitt can enhance or damage its reputation relative to the rest of the ACC. Going into its game Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C., against N.C. State, Pitt (14-8, 5-6) is tied for eighth in the 15-team conference, a middle-of-the-road team...
Pitt gets verbal commitment from DE Trevor Sommers, 1st from class of 2025
Coach Pat Narduzzi received Pitt’s first verbal commitment from a member of the class of 2025 on Monday when defensive end Trevor Sommers pledged to enroll next year. Committed!! #H2P @CoachDuzzPittFB @Pitt_FB @CoachHarriott @STA_Football pic.twitter.com/BCdvi2q0NU— Trevor Sommers (@trevorsommers90) February 5, 2024 Sommers, a junior at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort...
No matter the score, Pitt’s Jeff Capel continually tries to teach players proper habits
The game was winding down Saturday night, and people inside Petersen Events Center were gathering their belongings and preparing to leave, secure in the knowledge that Pitt’s 62-46 lead with 3 minutes, 5 seconds to play would turn into a victory. But there was one more TV timeout on the...
Pitt assistant coach Charlie Partridge leaving for the NFL
In an offseason of significant staff transition, Pitt football is losing another assistant, with the news Monday morning that defensive line and assistant head coach Charlie Partridge is heading to the NFL. FootballScoop.com reported Partridge will coach the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive line. Over the past seven seasons, Partridge made his...
Continued ‘efficiency’ on offense, more ‘explosions’ would help Pitt in final stretch
The word that might best describe Pitt’s victory against Notre Dame is “efficient.” That’s how the school’s news release accurately labeled it Saturday night. After some anxious moments in the first half and a 30-30 tie early in the second, there was little doubt Pitt was destined to defeat the...
Pitt runs away from Notre Dame, wins 4th game in past 5
Pitt’s 70-60 victory Saturday night against Notre Dame at Petersen Events Center continued Pitt’s slow ascent toward respectability and a .500 record in the ACC. To be sure, Pitt put enough on display to defeat Notre Dame, a team trying to find itself amidst a 7-15 record (2-9 in the...
How Jamie Dixon, Jeff Capel almost reached the Final Four as opposing coaches
Coaches don’t typically play the what-if game. They prefer to dwell on how seasons actually develop, their logical thought process recognizing that no championships are won upon someone’s speculation. On that count, Jamie Dixon didn’t disappoint. The man deals in reality like it’s a royal mandate. On the 15th anniversary...
Pitt gets more than a good player with William Jeffress
The 2021-22 season had not gone well for coach Jeff Capel and the Pitt basketball program. After a 66-46 loss to Boston College in the ACC Tournament — the last of a five-game, season-ending losing streak — Capel needed some encouragement. He was just beginning the process of exit interviews...
Pitt 5 Things: With Irish, past Pitt stars in town, Panthers have reason to pay attention to history
Saturday is a big night for Pitt fans eager to see what the immediate future holds but remain tethered to the past for all the right reasons. While the Panthers attempt to return to relevance this season, members of the 1974 and 2009 Pitt teams will be honored at Petersen...
