5 observations from Pitt’s 1st 3 ACC games
No one expected Pitt to win even half of its 18 ACC games this season, and the 86-80 loss at N.C. State made it clear why expectations are low. Even when Pitt plays well, which it did for much of the game … Even when the opponent hands the Panthers...
Pitt gives undermanned N.C. State scare in ACC loss
RALEIGH, N.C. — No. 15 North Carolina State lost both a starting big man and its point guard. Good thing for the Wolfpack their depth is the envy of most teams. DJ Funderburk scored 12 of his career-high 18 points in the second half, and N.C. State beat Pitt, 86-80,...
Jeff Capel hopes Pitt can turn page quickly with ACC road game loomingVideo
Jeff Capel is no killjoy. He enjoyed Pitt’s victory against Louisville as much as his players, even remarking it was a fun game in which to coach. But not long after he walked off the court and left the locker room celebration Wednesday night, he spoke with reporters about the...
Seven Pitt seniors chosen for all-star games
Seven Pitt seniors have been invited to put on a show for NFL coaches and scouts at three all-star games this month. Offensive lineman Connor Dintino, defensive end Dewayne Hendrix and linebacker Elijah Zeise will play in the SPIRAL Tropical Bowl on Sunday in Daytona Beach, Fla. Running backs Darrin...
Pitt’s Sidy N’Dir close to returning from leg injury
Pitt backup point guard Sidy N’Dir could return from his leg injury Saturday at N.C. State, slightly ahead of schedule. The original thought was that N’Dir, a graduate senior, would be out four to six weeks, but he’s missed just four games, starting with the New Orleans contest Dec. 20....
Pitt plans to discontinue women’s tennis after spring season
Pitt will shut down its intercollegiate women’s tennis program at the end of the upcoming spring season, marking the first time in nearly a quarter century the university has discontinued a sport. Men’s gymnastics and tennis were eliminated at the end of the 1994-95 academic year. The elimination of women’s...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt pinning its hopes in post on Terrell Brown
Jeff Capel let out a chuckle late Wednesday night upon reminder that, at this time last year, he was coaching NBA lottery picks at Duke in forwards Marvin Bagley III and Wendell Carter. The Pitt coach wasn’t laughing against Louisville when center Kene Chukwuka drew his fifth personal foul in...
Pitt snaps ACC skid behind Trey McGowens’ freshman-record 33 points
Before the start of overtime Wednesday night, Jeff Capel looked into his players’ eyes, and he didn’t like what he saw. “The guys were dejected. You could see that,” Pitt’s coach said. “I jumped on them (telling them), ‘We’re going to win. We have to fight for five more minutes.’...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Pitt learns valuable lesson with 1st ACC victory
The Pitt Panthers weren’t just seeking their first regular-season ACC victory in 22 games but their first conference win at Petersen Events Center since beating Florida State, 80-66, on Feb. 18, 2017. If you’re counting, that’s a span of 690 days between ACC victories. That made Louisville the last opponent...
Louisville coach Chris Mack sees a Pitt team unafraid to ‘run through walls’
When Louisville opened its ACC season Sunday with a 90-73 victory against Miami, six of the nine players who were in the game at least 10 minutes were juniors or seniors. Someday, Pitt coach Jeff Capel might have the same luxury. But, for now, he will meet Louisville (10-4, 1-0)...
Terrell Brown’s defense making difference for Pitt basketball
There might be times Terrell Brown appears to be looking in one direction while the basketball is headed somewhere else when Pitt is playing defense. Be assured, Pitt’s 6-foot-10 sophomore center is not day-dreaming, although he doesn’t mind if the other team thinks that’s the case. He knows exactly what...
Five things we learned from Pitt’s loss to No. 15 North Carolina
Cameron Johnson was struck by the fact that no one on Pitt’s roster was on the team when he played there. And the North Carolina graduate student has been gone for only 1 ½ seasons. “It is a little weird. Every single player (wasn’t on the team for his final...
Kevin Gorman: ACC debut a dud, but Pitt has nowhere to go but up under Jeff Capel
Jeff Capel’s concern — the Pitt first-year coach quickly corrected himself to change the word of choice from fear — was that his Panthers would be overwhelmed by the environment. After all, this was Capel’s first ACC game as Pitt’s coach and the first conference game for four Pitt players,...
Pitt puts up little resistance in ACC opener vs. North Carolina
Still four months shy of his 19th birthday, Pitt freshman Trey McGowens heard the noise in Petersen Events Center, felt the vibrations of a sellout crowd of 12,508 and never forgot what team he and his teammates were playing. “I was a little jittery going out,” he said. “Coach had...
No ‘hard feelings’ for North Carolina’s Cameron Johnson in return to Pitt
Cameron Johnson enjoyed his return engagement at Petersen Events Center so much he didn’t even mind a smattering of boos when he was introduced to the crowd before the game. “It was nice to be back,” said Johnson, a graduate student who transferred from Pitt to North Carolina after the...
Pitt fires offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and receivers coach Kevin Sherman
After Pitt’s 14-13 loss to Stanford in the Sun Bowl, coach Pat Narduzzi was unclear about his belief in offensive coordinator Shawn Watson. His thoughts finally came into focus Friday. Four days after he said his confidence in Watson was “high,” Narduzzi fired Watson after two seasons at Pitt. Also...
Pitt coach, ex-Duke player Jeff Capel: ‘I never hated Carolina’
He played and coached at Duke in prominent, highly competitive roles, but Pitt coach Jeff Capel said with certainty and without shame: “I never hated Carolina.” Capel begins the second phase of his Pitt career Saturday when his Panthers (10-3) meet No. 15 North Carolina (10-3) in the ACC opener...
North Carolina’s Cameron Johnson: Game at Pitt will be ‘pretty special’
Jeff Capel has respect and plenty of praise for former Pitt player Cameron Johnson, who’s coming back to Petersen Events Center on Saturday as a graduate student for the North Carolina Tar Heels. “He’s a really good player, a really good kid, a really good family,” Pitt’s coach said of...
Pitt prepares for ACC play by focusing on rebounds
Pitt sits at the doorway of what players, coaches and fans hope is a brighter future for the basketball program. But before walking through it, the Panthers need to pay the price of admission: Better rebounding. Pitt (10-3) will play the first ACC game of coach Jeff Capel’s tenure at...
Pitt seniors preparing for college all-star games
Four Pitt seniors have been chosen to participate in two post-season all-star games aimed at exposing them to NFL scouts. Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall, who became the first pair of Pitt running backs to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season, will be joined by offensive lineman Alex...
3-game losing streak leads to more questions, tests for Pitt
After Pitt lost to Clemson in the ACC championship game, coach Pat Narduzzi was asked if the team made progress from 2017. He appeared irritated and offended by the question. “I think we won five games last year,” he said. “Five is not as good as seven. We’re still Coastal...
