Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 32
After 11 months of practice, games, Pitt still working to master tackling fundamentals
Pitt’s coaches and strength staff began preparing players for this season not long after Ben Sauls’ field goal sailed through the uprights Dec. 30 in El Paso, Texas, to give the Panthers a victory in the Sun Bowl. There were the early-morning winter workouts in January, adherance to basic fundamentals...
Pitt pulls away from Florida Gulf Coast for home victory
Pitt confronted its most difficult test of the season Monday night at Petersen Events Center. Jeff Capel was eager to see how his team would handle it. The Panthers beat back repeated challenges from a veteran Florida Gulf Coast team and survived – even while shooting poorly from the free-throw...
Tough time for a short week, Pitt gets ready to confront Boston College on Thursday night
The ACC schedule maker — whether it was an unfeeling computer or a human being — led Pitt down two difficult paths this week. First, there is the matter of playing two football games in six days, something that has happened to Pitt only twice under coach Pat Narduzzi. Second,...
Analysis: Questionable quarterback play 1 of Pitt’s many problems
Perhaps the only question worth asking Pat Narduzzi at this point in a season of almost unprecedented misery is this one: Seriously, Pat, have you kept Nick Patti’s number handy? Narduzzi has tried five quarterbacks since Kenny Pickett’s departure with one game remaining in the 2021 season, and only Patti...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel believes freshman Bub Carrington can handle heavy workload
Bub Carrington will carry a unique personal situation and the responsibility that goes with it into his third game as a collegian Monday when Pitt welcomes Florida Gulf Coast to Petersen Events Center. Carrington has scored 18 points in each of his first two games while leading the team in...
Syracuse outsmarts Pitt with wildcat offense in Yankee Stadium win
Almost to the point where he had one hand tied behind his back, Syracuse quarterback Garrett Shrader suited up against Pitt on Saturday with an injured shoulder. Advantage, Pitt, right? Not quite. Not in this season of repeated despair for the Panthers and coach Pat Narduzzi. Syracuse coach Dino Babers...
Blake Hinson’s 2nd-half blitz leads Pitt to victory against Binghamton, 2-0 start
The final score displayed on the Petersen Events Center scoreboard Friday night indicated Pitt enjoyed a second easy nonconference victory, 89-60, against Binghamton. But coach Jeff Capel said there was more to it than mere numbers. Pitt won by 29, but the lead was only eight at halftime. More than...
Prep stars Brandin Cummings, Amdy Ndiaye sign Pitt letters of intent, plan to enroll for 2024-25
Pitt coach Jeff Capel built more hope for the future with the signing of a guard with a promising pedigree and a 6-foot-10 forward to national letters of intent. Brandin Cummings and Amdy Ndiaye made good on their verbal commitments and will join the team for the 2024-25 season. Capel...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers, Orange hope to write happier Bronx tale inside Yankee Stadium
Pitt’s game against Syracuse on Saturday will be staged at Yankee Stadium to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first college game played at the historic venue in the Bronx, New York. ACC officials aren’t getting a marquee matchup, with Pitt (2-7, 1-4) and Syracuse (4-5, 0-5) trying to stay...
Pat Narduzzi insists results matter in Pitt’s final 3 games
Perhaps only a coach can understand what Pat Narduzzi is thinking as he prepares to lead his team through the final three games of the season. Pitt will take a 2-7 overall record into its game Saturday against Syracuse (4-5, 0-5 ACC) at Yankee Stadium. Three more defeats would drop...
Extra loud ‘Hail’ during national anthem tells Pitt’s Blake Hinson the Zoo is ready
Before the first shot of the season nestled in the cords Monday night, Blake Hinson knew the Oakland Zoo was ready. Actually, he said the student cheering section reached full throat much earlier than it did a year ago. “I always tell the story about the Zoo growing in attendance...
Pitt players thankful for 3 more chances to achieve redemption
While the regular season moves into its final three-game stretch, talk among fans and media drifts toward arguments about College Football Playoff rankings, what will happen with Michigan and those sign-stealing allegations and speculation on who will win the Heisman trophy. Will anyone be paying attention to Pitt (2-7, 1-4...
Pitt WRs coach Tiquan Underwood, pass catchers work to iron out imperfections
Tiquan Underwood doesn’t hide behind false hope. Pitt’s passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach knows there’s plenty of work that’s necessary to improve the Panthers’ aerial game — both over the final three games and likely starting this winter when Pat Narduzzi and his coaching staff undertake some serious self-scouting. “I...
Freshman Bub Carrington records 5th triple-double in school history as Pitt dominates opener
Bub Carrington went to the bench with five minutes left in Pitt’s 100-52 season-opening victory against North Carolina A&T, his work apparently done for the night. In his first collegiate game, the freshman point guard — whose given name is Carlton, although everyone calls him Bub — already had recorded...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi speaks of personal regret in game of inches that turned into another loss
Pat Narduzzi desperately was seeking positive news Monday when he met with reporters two days after Pitt’s seventh loss in its past eight games. Here’s one: Players are still running fast. The GPS tracker that measures running velocity during the game identified 32 players who clocked more than 18 mph...
Pitt’s Zack Austin ready to confront the ‘cool people’ of North Carolina A&T
Zack Austin tried not to sound cocky when he was asked about his history with North Carolina A&T. But he couldn’t lie. “I’m undefeated. I’m 2-0,” he said. “I know a couple people on their team. They’re cool people.” Austin will get a chance to boost his personal winning streak...
Analysis: Penalties, complaints about officials, offensive misery remain troubling issues for Pitt
In the aftermath of another day of misery for Pitt’s football team, quarterback Christian Veilleux made remarks that underscored three of the many issues plaguing the team: Penalties, complaints about penalties and — the most important one — an inability to generate offense. Pat Narduzzi is coaching an undisciplined team....
Mistakes cost Pitt in 24-7 loss to No. 4 Florida State
Only two years removed from holding up the ACC championship trophy, Pat Narduzzi was the picture of a coach beaten down by defeat Saturday night. He spoke softly, appeared almost subdued, perhaps bewildered by what has befallen his team, certainly disappointed after the 24-7 loss to No. 4 Florida State...
Off-court values matter to Pitt basketball’s new-look team as much as talent on court
When Guillermo Diaz Graham is asked about the second season of what he hopes will be the steady reincarnation of Pitt basketball, he speaks first of values off the court. “We stay together. We show up every day. We make no excuses. Also, we are family,” the sophomore from the...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers must tame Florida State defensive end, Pennsylvania native Jared Verse
The only answer Pat Narduzzi could offer was something about post-Halloween magic. For whatever reason, Pitt hasn’t lost a game in November (8-0 the past two seasons) since Nov. 28, 2020, a 52-17 setback at Clemson. The Panthers haven’t lost a November home game since Nov. 30, 2019, a 26-19...
Former Pitt defensive back Louis Riddick warns Panthers of ‘very, very motivated’ Seminoles
Louis Riddick played for and worked side by side with many coaches during a football career that spanned four decades. He has seen the game through the lens of a player, scout, front office boss and now an ESPN analyst. • First, there was Mike Gottfried in the late 1980s...
After the death of Bobby Knight, Jeff Capel coached Pitt ‘with a little bit of a heavy heart’
Pitt coach Jeff Capel can be counted among the many in college basketball who competed against — and admired — Bobby Knight, who died Wednesday at the age of 83. “Coach Knight has meant so much to the game of basketball,” said Capel, who admitted to coaching his team Wednesday...
Pitt dominates Pitt-Johnstown, 96-60, in tuneup exhibition
Pitt called its game Wednesday night against Division II Pitt-Johnstown an exhibition for a reason. The 96-60 Pitt victory at Petersen Events Center does not count on the Panthers’ overall record, and the outcome mattered less to coach Jeff Capel and his staff than the process employed in securing the...
Offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. keeps his spirits up while helping navigate Pitt through difficult season
The one, unmistakable takeaway gleaned from a chat with Pitt offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti Jr. is this: There is no need to wish him a great day. He’s already having one. “Every day’s a great day,” he said, sporting a broad smile, after he had spent nearly 15 minutes Wednesday...
Hits keep on coming toward Pitt’s Christian Veilleux, but he hopes to use them as learning tools
In an eight-minute chat with reporters, Pitt quarterback Christian Veilleux made four references to one specific aspect of playing his position: • “I have to stand back there and take a hit.” • “(Learn) to be comfortable, be willing to take a hit.” • “Even if you have to take...
