Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 29
Ex-Ohio U. linebacker Keye Thompson plans to transfer to Pitt, add versatility to the position
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi added depth and a possible starter to his linebacker group Thursday when Keye Thompson announced plans to transfer from Ohio University. He is the 10th player to join the team through the transfer portal since the end of the season. Thompson, who has one season of...
Winless in ACC, Pitt men seek better point production
Jeff Capel was proud of the effort his team displayed in Pitt’s 70-57 loss to No. 8 North Carolina on Tuesday. He repeatedly has praised his players’ attitude and togetherness, hoping those three traits eventually will lead to victories in the ACC. So far, however, Pitt (9-5 overall) has lost...
Cold-shooting Pitt remains winless in ACC after loss to No. 8 North Carolina
The missed shots hurt – badly – and Pitt had plenty of those in its 70-57 loss to No. 8 North Carolina on Tuesday night. Shots that go awry create opportunities for rebounds and second-chance points. But that was no advantage for a Pitt team that lost the battle of...
Analysis: Pitt needs better rebounding, balanced scoring when it meets North Carolina
Losses create plenty of angst among the Pitt fan base, and what happened at Syracuse will spawn its share. Justifiably so. But when a coach voices concern for the immediate future after Pitt (9-4, 0-2 ACC) was pounded on the glass by the Orange in an 81-73 defeat, it’s time...
Pitt loses 11-point lead, falls to Syracuse 81-73
Before Pitt’s game at Syracuse on Saturday became an 81-73 loss for the Panthers, there were several opportunities to reverse that outcome. • Start with rebounding. Pitt did far less of that than what was necessary, especially in the second half when the score was tied 61-61 with five minutes...
Pitt’s Blake Hinson feels pulse of team, provides scoring touch it needs
Blake Hinson is the only senior in Pitt’s starting lineup, so he willingly accepts the responsible roles of guidance counselor and the team’s leading scorer. The scoring part is easy for Hinson, who leads the ACC and is tied for sixth in the nation in made 3-pointers (45). He also...
2023 in Pittsburgh college sports: Pitt men’s basketball ended 5-year NCAA Tournament drought
To fully and fairly assess the 2023 sports year at Pitt, you need to go back to the end of 2022. The metamorphosis of coach Jeff Capel’s men’s basketball program began to take shape Dec. 30, 2022, when Pitt upset No. 25 North Carolina, 76-74, at Petersen Events Center. The...
Junior college guard Brandon Hall commits to Duquesne basketball
In the midst of its 8-3 start to the season, Duquesne men’s basketball received a verbal commitment this week from junior college guard Brandon Hall for the 2024-25 season. 2024 Howard College (TX) G Brandon Hall has committed to Duquesne. Verbal Commits (@VerbalCommits) December 24, 2023 Hall (6-foot-4)...
Diaz Graham twins’ mom makes herself at home on Pitt campus during holiday visit
When Elizabeth Graham goes shopping in her favorite Italian grocery story, people know her and stop to say hello. That wouldn’t be unusual in her hometown of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. But it’s happening not far from the Pitt campus in Oakland where Graham is spending the holidays visiting...
Former N.C. State offensive lineman Lyndon Cooper commits to Pitt from the transfer portal
After veteran guards Jake Kradel and Blake Zubovic exhausted their eligibility and tackle Matt Goncalves declared for the NFL Draft, Pitt needed help on its offensive line. Coach Pat Narduzzi looked inside the ACC to find it. Former N.C. State guard/center Lyndon Cooper announced Thursday night on X his decision...
Pitt scoring falls off in 62-48 victory against Purdue Fort Wayne
Jeff Capel had no problem with Pitt’s defense Wednesday night in its 62-48 victory against Purdue Fort Wayne. In fact, he thought it was “unbelievable.” And the numbers prove it. The Mastodons were averaging 86.8 points per game (14th in the nation), but they managed only 17 in the first...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi tried to avoid NIL talk, star rankings while recruiting his 19-man class
The initials NIL cast a shadow over college football every day, but name, image and likeness — and the riches it can offer players — come into greater focus at certain times of the year. Wednesday, national letter of intent day, was one of those times. While introducing his 10th...
Central Catholic DE and German OL among 1st to officially commit on Pitt’s signing day
Moritz Schmoranzer kick-started Pitt’s signing day at 7:08 a.m. Wednesday when coach Pat Narduzzi received a signed national letter of intent from the German-born offensive lineman. Schmoranzer sent his letter from Germany where he is spending the holidays before enrolling next month. Let’s go‼️ All the way from Germany! ????????...
Pitt secures commitments from 2 more transfers: defensive end David Ojiegbe, tight end Jake Overman
The results of Pitt’s venture into the transfer portal won’t be completely known until the end of the 2024 season, but it’s clear coach Pat Narduzzi considers that avenue an important road toward rebuilding his program. Narduzzi claimed his seventh and eighth verbal commitments from transfers Tuesday when former Clemson...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel likes team’s progress, seeks improved on-court communication
Jeff Capel’s sixth season as Pitt’s head coach is off to a good (not great) start. The 8-3 record is nothing special, and he knows it. The Panthers have won eight of their first 11 games in three of Capel’s five previous seasons. “Certainly would not like to have three...
Jeff Capel finds bench strength as Pitt nears end of nonconference season
There isn’t much Pitt could have proven Saturday while thoroughly defeating South Carolina State, 86-50. As soon as Pitt got over its malaise, possibly caused by a week without playing a game, the Bulldogs simply were outmanned and had no answers. South Carolina State is the fourth opponent this season...
Pitt’s defense gets a boost from transfers Nick James, Nate Matlack
Pitt bolstered its defensive depth Sunday when two players from power conferences verbally committed to coach Pat Narduzzi. COMMITTED H2P pic.twitter.com/PrdP0SRwBh— Nate Matlack (@nmatlack1) December 17, 2023 Defensive tackle Nick James and defensive end Nate Matlack are transferring from Indiana and Kansas State, but the key to these two roster...
Western Carolina’s Desmond Reid, Censere Lee follow offensive coordinator Kade Bell to Pitt
Roster additions from the most important source these days — the NCAA transfer portal — continued for Pitt on Saturday when running back Desmond Reid and wide receiver Censere Lee verbally committed to the Panthers. Reid and Lee complete the package that arrived from Western Carolina, starting with the Catamounts’...
Pitt stretches winning streak to 3 with rout of South Carolina State
With final exams over, campus half-empty and Pitt playing a game – a nonconference game — for the first time in a week, Petersen Events Center was quieter than usual Saturday afternoon during the Panthers’ 86-50 victory against South Carolina State. Didn’t matter. After a slow start, players’ effort was...
Pitt Take 5: Busy week of finals, practice ends Saturday against South Carolina State
Jeff Capel and Pitt athletic officials take a lot of local heat for keeping Duquesne off their nonconference schedule. The schools are separated by 2 miles and both compete in Division I, but they haven’t played each other since 2018. That’s after meeting 87 times, starting in 1932. Pitt leads...
Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz headlines Duquesne Athletics Hall of Fame class
Four All-Americans, three championship teams and the leader of the most successful women’s basketball team in program history make up the 2023-24 Merle Gilliand Duquesne University Athletics Hall of Fame class. University officials made the announcement Thursday. The list includes: • Pittsburgh Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz, a three-time All-American...
Pitt hopes Kade Bell package comes with Western Carolina playmakers Desmond Reid, Censere Lee
Aware that football may be thicker than blood — at least, when a school is attempting to dig out of a 3-9 hole — Western Carolina coach Kerwin Bell was OK with his son, Kade, leaving his staff to coordinate the offense at Pitt. But did he need to try...
Kerwin Bell trusted no one to run his offense other than his son, new Pitt offensive coordinator Kade
Kerwin Bell learned and sharpened his system of offensive football by backing up Dan Marino and Jim Harbaugh in the NFL, coaching under Steve Spurrier and throwing for nearly 20,000 yards as a quarterback in the Canadian Football League. That system didn’t just help him win a national championship as...
Pitt fills its long snapper vacancy with Nilay Upadhyayula, formerly of UConn
Pitt received its second verbal commitment from the transfer portal Wednesday when former UConn long snapper Nilay Upadhyayula announced on X (formerly Twitter) his plans to enroll next year. Upadhyayula, a native of San Jose, Calif., who attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., follows former Nebraska cornerback Tamon Lynum to...
Pitt’s Brandon George, Nate Temple change course, plan to return to Panthers’ defense
Pitt received three pieces of good news on the transfer front Sunday when linebacker Brandon George and defensive end Nate Temple pulled their names from the portal and will return to Pitt. Also, Nebraska cornerback Tamon Lynum announced on Instagram that he will enrolling next year. H2P! pic.twitter.com/bofbt5iJyo— Brandon George...
