Pitt endured ‘terrible’ practice after beating Duke
When Pitt reported to practice Thursday afternoon after a day off and the big victory against Duke, the session didn’t go especially well. “Practice, it was terrible. I ain’t going to lie to you,” said junior guard Xavier Johnson, one of the team’s most experienced players. “It was kind of...
Pitt sophomore Justin Champagnie’s high school coach declares, `He wants to be great’
At home Tuesday night in Manhattan, Ed Gonzalez clicked on his TV to watch Pitt play Duke. Flashing across Gonzalez’s TV screen was former Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School basketball star Justin Champagnie, warming up inside Petersen Events Center. The game mattered to Gonzalez because he’s been the coach at...
Jeff Capel says Pitt on right road to ‘becoming good’
Pitt fans are already sending out text messages to friends that say things such as, “Great win. Might get to the tournament.” It’s fine to be encouraged by the Panthers’ three-game winning streak that includes victories against ACC blue bloods Duke and Syracuse (twice). Just don’t get coach Jeff Capel...
Wake Forest replaces Boston College as Pitt’s road opponent Saturday
Wake Forest has replaced Boston College as Pitt’s opponent Saturday after a positive test and subsequent quarantining and contract tracing within the BC program. The game, moved from its original date of Feb. 7, will be played in Winston-Salem, N.C., with the same start time (6 p.m.) and telecast venue...
Pitt hangs on to defeat Duke, 79-73
For Justin Champagnie, Pitt’s 79-73 victory against Duke on Tuesday night was all about gaining respect – for his team and himself. Playing in a nearly empty Petersen Events Center that would have been rocking under normal circumstances, Pitt survived a Duke rally that three times trimmed a 15-point lead...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel doesn’t need national rankings to tell him playing Duke is special
If anyone thinks beating Duke has lost some of its prestige, let Jeff Capel tell you about the 1994-1995 Blue Devils. “I was on the last (Duke) team that didn’t make the (NCAA) Tournament,” he said. “And even though we were 2-14 — we stunk — people still stormed the...
First Call: JuJu Smith-Schuster stokes free agency talk via video game, Aaron Donald’s emotional response to loss
Monday’s “First Call” starts with Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and his “virtual” flirtation with free agency. Cleveland suffered a bad break during the Browns playoff loss in Kansas City. Los Angeles’ Aaron Donald had an emotional reaction to his Rams losing in Green Bay Saturday. And the “Killer B’s”...
Pitt shows it can score, but rebounding might be the key to enduring success
Pitt’s flurry of points against Syracuse on Saturday can be quantified in a variety of ways. • The Panthers scored 96 points, the most in a conference game that didn’t go into overtime since Pitt recorded 98 against DePaul in 2008. • It also was Pitt’s highest total against the...
Pitt’s Justin Champagnie returns early from injury, scores 24 to help defeat Syracuse
At one point, Justin Champagnie just laughed at Jeff Capel’s question. “I kept asking him, ‘Are you OK?’ ” Pitt’s coach said. ” ‘Are you tired? Are you tired?’ Champagnie’s answer: A definite “No!” Who could blame Capel for being concerned? Was his star forward putting too much trauma on...
Pitt’s Justin Champagnie returns from knee injury, starts against Syracuse
Justin Champagnie beat his timetable for recovery from a knee injury by two weeks and was in the starting lineup Saturday for Pitt’s game against Syracuse at Petersen Events Center. Champagnie injured the knee in practice Dec. 20, but missed only two games after four others were postponed because of...
Pitt freshman forward John Hugley suspended, facing 3 felony charges
Pitt freshman forward John Hugley is charged with two counts of criminal conspiracy and one count of receiving stolen property — all felonies — and has been suspended indefinitely from the men’s basketball team. He also faces a summary citation for driving without a license. The charges date back to...
Pitt basketball Take 5: Despite a 6-2 record, questions surround Panthers
Two questions quickly come to mind when pondering Pitt’s game Saturday against Syracuse at Petersen Events Center: • Will the game be played? Don’t laugh. It would be only Pitt’s third game since before Christmas. • Does Pitt’s 6-2 record (2-1 ACC) give rise to optimism? Let’s examine those questions...
Jeff Capel says schedule interruptions led to boredom among Pitt players
Basketball coaches try to avoid a variety of circumstances that can impact a game in a negative way. Poor free-throw shooting, failure to gain proper position while rebounding, foul trouble and a lack of hustle come to mind. Those are normal issues that can be fixed, to some extent, with...
Pitt defensive coordinator Randy Bates named FBS Assistant Coach of the Year
By most metrics, Pitt’s defense graded out as one of the best in the FBS last season. Defensive coordinator Randy Bates, the man who unleashed Pitt’s top-20 unit, was honored Tuesday by the American Football Coaches Association as the FBS Assistant Coach of the Year. Bates, who has been on...
2022 defensive lineman Elijah Statham makes verbal commitment to Pitt
Pitt continued to build its football class of 2022 when Elijah Statham, a junior defensive lineman at Smyrna (Del.) High School, committed to the Panthers. Statham announced his verbal commitment on his Twitter account. pic.twitter.com/DaxgXjPJVL— EJ (@elijah_statham3) January 12, 2021 Statham, 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, will join his brother Michael, who...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel says Justin Champagnie could return from knee injury sooner than expected
A day after informing his team for the fourth time this season that a game had been postponed, Pitt coach Jeff Capel had some good news Monday morning. He expects Justin Champagnie to return from his knee injury before the original six-to-eight week timetable announced after he injured the lateral...
Pitt’s men’s basketball game at Georgia Tech on Wednesday postponed
Pitt’s men’s basketball season has been interrupted again after the ACC postponed the Panthers’ game Wednesday at Georgia Tech. The postponement is because of a positive covid-19 test and subsequent contact tracing within the Yellow Jackets program. The postponement is Pitt’s fourth this season, one more conference game than the...
Pitt’s Patrick Jones II, Rashad Weaver named consensus All-Americans
Pitt joined Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame as the only schools with multiple consensus All-Americans after the NCAA on Thursday bestowed that designation on senior defensive ends Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver. Pitt hasn’t had two consensus All-Americans in the same season since 1986 (offensive tackle Randy Dixon...
Pitt Take 5: Thanks to postponements, Justin Champagnie’s injury not so painful
There might be two ways of looking at Pitt’s bad luck within the protocols of covid-19. The most obvious would be that the momentum created after starting 6-2 (2-1 in the ACC) has been interrupted. Pitt must wait a week for its next game Wednesday at Boston College. The team...
Pitt men’s basketball reschedules Notre Dame for Jan. 30 at the Pete
Pitt will play Notre Dame on Jan. 30 at Petersen Events Center, one of three games that were postponed because of covid-19 concerns. The game, originally scheduled for Jan. 2, will begin at 8 p.m. and will be televised by the ACC Network. The other two postponements — games at...
Andrew Fillipponi discusses this week’s return to radio following the loss of a child
On Monday, 93.7 The Fan afternoon talk show host Andrew Fillipponi returned to his usual afternoon drivetime host chair after an extended absence. He had missed roughly two weeks over the holidays to stay home with his wife, Amanda, after the loss of their first child. Geno Fillipponi was stillborn...
Pitt’s Rashad Weaver, Patrick Jones named bookends on Walter Camp All-American defensive line
After a stellar regular season, Rashad Weaver and Patrick Jones closed out their All-American postseason Thursday when the Pitt defensive ends were named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation first team. Weaver and Jones comprised half of the first-team defensive line on the oldest All-America squad in the nation. Selected...
Pitt’s game vs. Florida State on Saturday postponed after positive covid results in Seminoles’ program
For the third time this season, Pitt’s men’s basketball team is faced with a postponement due to covid-19 concerns. Pitt was scheduled to return to the Petersen Events to play No. 25 Florida State on Saturday in its first home game since Dec. 22. But the ACC postponed the game...
Jeff Capel hopes to build Pitt program on same pillars used by Ben Howland, Jamie Dixon
Jamie Dixon didn’t hear Jeff Capel’s remarks after Pitt defeated Syracuse. He was too busy preparing his TCU team for back-to-back games against No. 6 Kansas (a 93-64 loss Tuesday) and No. 2 Baylor (Saturday in Fort Worth). “My goal is to be in the toughest league in the country...
Derry’s Micky Phillippi, Pitt wrestling have big plans
Micky Phillippi has set some high goals for this upcoming and shortened wrestling team. The Derry graduate and Pitt senior wants to win an ACC title and an NCAA title. He, along with numerous other wrestlers, was denied a chance in 2020 after the national tournament was canceled because of...
