Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 48
Pitt women hope for ‘fresh start’ in ACC Tournament
Lance White knew rebuilding the Pitt women’s basketball program wouldn’t be easy. Five years ago, he arrived after 15 seasons at Florida State where he was recognized as one of the country’s top assistants. He carried energy, enthusiasm and a difficult challenge into his first head-coaching opportunity. Pitt had won...
For 1st time since 2015-16 season, Pitt is a top-25 basketball team
The only part of Pitt’s season more consistent than solid performance on the court was fans’ outcry and indignation over their team’s exclusion from the Associated Press Top 25. That so-called disrespect ended Monday when Pitt (21-8, 14-4) slipped into the AP and USA Today Coaches polls at No. 25...
Nothing normal about Pitt’s historic improvement from 11 to 21 victories
Sam Clancy works in the same building as Jeff Capel. It’s inevitable that Pitt basketball, past and present, cross paths occasionally. One day this season, in the midst of Pitt’s historic recovery from oblivion, Clancy walked up to the coach and announced, “I’m a proud basketball alumni. I’m walking around...
Pitt belts Syracuse, rolls into 1st place in the ACC
Perhaps the moment that defined Pitt’s runaway 99-82 victory against Syracuse on Saturday was Nike Sibande’s alley-oop dunk in the second half. The play, initiated by a pinpoint out-of-bounds pass from the baseline by Nelly Cummings, resulted in two points, a 50-40 Pitt lead and a thunderous roar from the...
Pitt Take 5: Stakes high for Panthers in their final 3 regular-season games
Jeff Capel has said repeatedly that the NCAA Net rankings, Associated Press Top 25 and the many versions of bracketology that pop up on the internet do not interest him. But don’t let him fool you. Pitt’s coach knows what’s at stake over the final three games of the regular...
Former Pitt defensive end Deslin Alexandre named Jason Witten Man of the Year
After a busy collegiate career on and off the field, former Pitt defensive end Deslin Alexandre was named the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year at a ceremony Thursday night in Frisco, Texas. The honor is annually presented by former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten to the FBS...
Emotions will surface when Pitt honors its seniors, but big game vs. Syracuse awaits
There will be smiles and tears, back slaps and hugs and flowers for the ladies Saturday when Pitt honors its five seniors in front of a sold-out crowd at Petersen Events Center. Those extracurricular activities will occur before the ball is tipped to start the game, but unlike many past...
While games grow in intensity, Pitt’s Jeff Capel seeks more of the same on defense
Pitt’s victory against Georgia Tech on Tuesday padded the Panthers’ NCAA Tournament resume and relieved some pressure and perhaps some doubt among the fan base after the loss at Virginia Tech. More importantly, it fortified one important thought in coach Jeff Capel’s mind: It’s time to get tough in practice....
Pitt freshmen sacrifice last days of high school to prepare for life as college football player
No one can predict how many or to what extent Pitt’s freshman football players will impact the team next season. So much time, so much to learn and so many moving parts stand in the way before the opener Sept. 2 against Wofford. After winter conditioning, spring practice begins next...
Pitt avoids upset, pulls away from Georgia Tech for 20th victory
By a strict mathematical standard, Pitt’s 76-68 victory Tuesday night against Georgia Tech didn’t qualify as a game the Panthers absolutely needed to win. If Pitt had lost in front of 9,482 at raucous Petersen Events Center, there would have been time to recover. There are three games left in...
Down year for ACC? Pitt’s Jeff Capel doesn’t understand perception
After shepherding Pitt through practice, watching video of his opponents and talking with players, recruits and staff pretty much all day, Jeff Capel still can’t get enough basketball. When the day’s work is done, he may tune into the ACC Network and Big Ten Network to keep up on what’s...
Analysis: After loss to Virginia Tech and with tournaments approaching, Pitt needs to get better in a hurry
Three weeks ago — when Pitt was winning regularly and fans were dreaming of lofty tournament seedings and an ACC championship — the Georgia Tech game appeared to be a mere nuisance on the schedule. One of those games put under the victory column long before it’s played, an insignificant...
Pitt’s 6-game winning streak ends in loss to Virginia Tech
After Pitt won six games in a row, no one expected the Panthers to maintain such a pace for the rest of the season. Bad stuff can happen, and Pitt’s 79-72 loss Saturday to Virginia Tech before a crowd of 8,925 at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va., should not have...
Pitt defeats Duke, shares ACC dual wrestling championship
Pitt’s wrestling team nailed down a share of the ACC dual championship with a 43-3 victory Saturday against Duke at Fitzgerald Field House. The Panthers (10-4, 4-1) won nine of 10 bouts against Duke (3-12, 0-5) to tie N.C. State and Virginia Tech atop the ACC standings. It’s the second...
Pitt Take 5: Underdog role seems to fit 1st-place Panthers
Pitt fans don’t need another reason to feel disrespected, but KenPom, a ranking service that projects outcomes and ranks teams and conferences, has found one more. Virginia Tech 75, Pitt 72, Saturday in Blacksburg, Va. But why worry? DraftKings says Pitt is a 5-point underdog, but the Panthers are 19-6-1...
Jeff Capel, Pitt players try to ignore outside talk, but ACC preseason poll remains motivation
There’s a specific reason why Jeff Capel doesn’t concern himself with the noise outside his office, unless it’s coming from basketballs bouncing on the floor below — where his team practices. And the reason is rooted in Capel’s personal history. The story goes back to his four seasons at Duke...
Duquesne rolls over Saint Joseph’s for 18th victory, tripling last season’s total
After the first few minutes of Duquesne’s 76-62 victory against Saint Joseph’s on Wednesday night, the outcome never was in question. Duquesne played smothering defense at least through the first half when the Dukes forced 11 Saint Joseph’s turnovers and held the Hawks to 24 points. They made 50% of...
Federiko Federiko fills big void in Pitt’s lineup
Pitt’s itemized list of things you never would have predicted in preseason defines the Panthers’ run to first place in the ACC. • The proliferation — and success — of the transfers and freshmen, who comprise the top six players in terms of points, rebounds and minutes played. Four are...
Oakland Zoo member wins free rent for a year with long shots at Pitt men’s basketball gameVideo
Pitt’s scholarship basketball players hit 11 3-point shots Tuesday night during the 77-58 victory against Boston College at Petersen Events Center. But these days, the long-range action at the Pete flows into the halftime festivities, and even gets considered to be on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” Richard Ferris, a member of the...
Pitt rolls over Boston College, bolsters NCAA Tournament resume with 19th win
Perhaps Pitt’s half-game lead in the ACC won’t last beyond Virginia’s next outing, but the Panthers’ 77-58 victory against Boston College on Tuesday night stands as another brick in their NCAA Tournament resume. That was the big picture for Pitt (19-7, 12-3) while recording its most ACC victories during a...
Unranked still, Pitt’s climb toward 1st place in the ACC started in August
Back in late August, Jeff Capel first realized, “OK, we have something,” when the last of the new players finished checking into Petersen Events Center. “As I started watching us as we started workouts,” he said Monday on the ACC coaches conference call, “we started seeing the camaraderie, just how...
Pitt coach Mike Bell seeks to prove climate doesn’t matter in college baseball
Mike Bell has heard the annual commentary on college baseball teams in the north — you know, they can’t win because of the climate — and he’ll argue the point if you care to engage him. “Some guys like to use it as a crutch,” he said. But Pitt’s baseball...
Incorrect call in Virginia-Duke game forces Pitt to share ACC lead with Cavaliers
Given the evolution of Pitt’s basketball season, it makes sense that the only negative development of the weekend happened hundreds of miles away and was one coaches and players could not prevent. And, by the way, it was wrong. Six games from the regular-season finish line, Pitt (18-7, 11-3) is...
Pitt beats Florida State for its 18th overall victory, 11th in the ACC
Before the start of the season, a suggestion that Pitt might win 18 games — 11 of them in the ACC — would have been met with ridicule. The Panthers hadn’t won 18 overall since 2016 when they finished 21-12, perhaps the most recent time anyone took the program seriously....
Pitt Take 5: Rematch with Florida State no easy pickings for the Panthers
You’ve heard the axiom about the difficulty of defeating a team twice in the same season. Let’s try another one in a related sense: The team that won the first game must know something about its victim, which could make reversing the outcome in the rematch difficult. That’s the situation...
