Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 81
Robert Morris women’s, men’s teams picked to finish 9th, 10th in Horizon League
The Robert Morris women’s and men’s basketball teams were picked to finish 9th and tenth, respectively, in their second season in the 12-team Horizon League, according to preseason polls released Tuesday by the league. Horizon League head coaches voted in the women’s poll and a committee of media members, communication...
Pitt players, coach try to block out hype surrounding Clemson’s visit to Heinz Field
With attendance at Heinz Field climbing above 63,000, snow in the air and temperatures falling into the 30s, 13-year-old John Petrishen sat inside Heinz Field one December day, watching Pitt try to claim the 2009 Big East championship. “I remember having my heart broken,” he said, recalling the 45-44 loss...
Pitt’s favored status in Clemson game draws uninterested shrug from Pat Narduzzi
Pat Narduzzi won’t take your bet, but he’ll say this about Pitt’s game Saturday against Clemson. “I don’t care about favorites and points and spreads and all the rest. In my opinion, they’re favored, coming into our house, again,” he said of Clemson, a 3 ½-point underdog according to betql.com....
5-1 nothing new at Pitt, but 2021 team may be built to avoid problems that plagued its predecessors
Walt Harris did it twice, Dave Wannstedt three times. Pat Narduzzi has joined his predecessors, claiming two 5-1 starts in seven seasons — 2015 and ’21 with a team that is now ranked No. 23 in the nation. Pitt just won consecutive ACC road games by 20+ points for the...
Pitt surfaces at No. 23 in Associated Press Top 25
After producing three consecutive victories with 20-plus victory margins for the first time since 2001, Pitt moved into the Associated Press Top 25 on Sunday at No. 23. Pitt’s first appearance in the Top 25 since winning its first three games of the 2020 season precedes a nationally televised (ESPN)...
Robert Morris hockey programs short on pledges, but optimism remains for reinstatement
Logan Bittle wants more. He needs more. The former Robert Morris hockey player and assistant women’s coach is sitting on $1.4 million in pledges earmarked for reinstating the Robert Morris men’s and women’s ice hockey teams in time for the 2022-23 season. All that is left is collecting — and...
Pitt uses defense, running game to defeat Virginia Tech
Pitt players are changing the rules, and all it took was a victory against Virginia Tech, a 5-1 start to this season and, of course, the looming shadow of six-time defending ACC champion Clemson coming into Heinz Field next Saturday. Much like many — if not all coaches — Pitt’s...
Pitt Take 5: Stakes high when Panthers visit Virginia Tech
When the University of Pittsburgh lines up its football team Saturday inside Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., to confront Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (the game carries enough importance to require the proper names of both schools), the winner will have an advantage to take into the final six...
When Pat Narduzzi speaks on Thursdays, you never know what to expect
Every Thursday, promptly at 1 p.m., and with most game prep finished, Pat Narduzzi sits down at a long, wooden table in a conference room and chats casually with reporters. Colorful scenes from Pittsburgh’s North Shore and Pitt’s Oakland campus strategically are hung to cover up game plans and recruiting...
Even after putting away the footballs, Pitt’s Jordan Addison learns from his brother
Whenever he confronted his older brother, Michael — one-on-one with the football in the air on a deserted field in Maryland or in the backyard — Jordan Addison met his match. Which doesn’t happen especially often. Just ask any of the defensive backs on the five teams Pitt has played...
Jeff Capel preaches togetherness in his 4th season at Pitt
After five players left Pitt’s basketball program at the end of last season, Jeff Capel’s theme for his 2021-22 team is togetherness. And he told a story Tuesday at ACC media days in Charlotte, N.C., that embodied what he wants to see from his team. It was early in Capel’s...
Mark Whipple builds relationships with his players, productive offense for Pitt
He enjoys the victories, of course, and the calls that work and those times when a Pitt player is standing in the end zone, holding the football aloft. But for Mark Whipple, the best of times might be in his office – day or night — when Pitt’s quarterbacks voluntarily...
Duquesne adds graduate assistant to active roster
Duquesne’s basketball season starts in less than a month, but Keith Dambrot is still putting the finishing touches on his team. With a scholarship available, Duquesne has added Davis Larson, who until recently was a graduate assistant on Dambrot’s staff, to the active roster for the upcoming season. Larson, a...
Back after an off week, Pitt must deal with lofty expectations and Virginia Tech
Pat Narduzzi is in the midst of a difficult week of preparation for Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech at loud Lane Stadium. And for good reason. • Pitt hasn’t won there since 2015 — only twice in nine games since the series’ inception in 1993. • Two years ago, Virginia...
Transfer forward Mouhamadou Gueye shows off versatility at Pitt’s open scrimmage
Equipped with a pair of shot-blocking hands nearly as large as dinner plates, Mouhamadou Gueye showed off another part of his game Saturday during Pitt’s open scrimmage at Petersen Events Center. The graduate student from Stony Brook found the 3-point arc on the floor, stepped behind it and hit two...
Pitt transfer guard Jamarius Burton out 4-6 weeks after successful knee procedure
Jamarius Burton, one of five players added to the Pitt basketball roster after last season, will miss the next four-to-six weeks — and, possibly, the first four games of the season — after undergoing a procedure on his left knee Friday morning. Pitt coach Jeff Capel said the procedure was...
Clicking off social media gives Pitt guard Ithiel Horton new outlook on 2021-22 season
Ithiel Horton could try 1,000 bad shots this season, but his better judgement will remain unquestioned because of a decision he made off the court. Horton, a returning junior guard for Pitt’s reconstructed basketball team, told reporters last week he has been off social media for the past two months....
Pitt long snapper Cal Adomitis will sacrifice his long hair to raise money for Children’s Hospital
In the Bible verse Judges 14:19-20, Samson loses all of his strength when Delilah brings in a Philistine to cut his long hair. Pitt senior Cal Adomitis might be the Samson of ACC long snappers. Yet, he has no fear of losing his strength next year when several pediatric cancer...
Unaware of Rolling Stones concert, Pat Narduzzi pushes Pitt players to maintain focus during off week
Pitt doesn’t play this week, but Pat Narduzzi afforded himself little time to relax. He spent Monday and Tuesday recruiting and meeting with coordinators Mark Whipple and Randy Bates. He said Wednesday on the ACC Network show “Packer and Durham” that he was so busy he didn’t even know the...
Business as usual as Pitt’s Kenny Pickett approaches off week
Kenny Pickett spoke for a little more than three minutes Saturday afternoon after Pitt’s victory against Georgia Tech. He gave credit to his teammates and the trust that has developed among them. He showed respect for the weekly preparation that has led Pitt to a 4-1 record. He was his...
Pitt notebook: Linebacker SirVocea Dennis catches breath quickly when offense scores in seconds
SirVocea Dennis thought for a second or two before giving a firm, “No,” to the question: Does Pitt’s offense score too quickly? Pitt scored seven touchdowns in its 52-21 victory against Georgia Tech on Saturday. Three came at the end of 33-, 15- and 39-second possessions by the offense. A...
Pat Narduzzi puts Kenny Pickett, Heisman in same sentence after Pitt pounds Georgia Tech
There might have been a few people thinking it. But Pat Narduzzi actually said it out loud Saturday afternoon — postgame and on the ACC Network — after quarterback Kenny Pickett and the Pitt aerial show carved up the Georgia Tech defense 52-21 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. “He...
Pioneer in racial relations, Bobby Grier to be enshrined in Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame
Bobby Grier, a two-way football standout best known for desegregating the Sugar Bowl, has been chosen for enshrinement in the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame. Grier will join the 14-person class of inductees at the Pitt Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner on Oct. 22 at Heinz Field. The class will...
ACC Coastal race may be wide open, but Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi has more immediate concerns on his mind
Bill Cowher used to say perception is reality. But the only reality that matters to Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi is what sits immediately ahead of him. There is a perception around college football that anyone can win the ACC Coastal Division this season because there doesn’t appear to be a...
Jeff Capel puts a new face on Pitt basketball
Almost all of the seats inside Petersen Events Center were empty Thursday afternoon, but there was something familiar about the sounds in the air. The bounce of a basketball, the squeak of sneakers on hardwood, the clap of hands when someone put on a show and, of course, the authoritative...
