After loss to North Carolina, Bub Carrington says he's returning to Pitt next season 'for sure'

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After he looked like the second-best guard on the Capital One Arena floor Friday night, Bub Carrington made multiple references to his next season — at Pitt.

Although his name was linked to mock 2024 NBA Drafts as early as the beginning of this season, Carrington talked like he wants to join backcourt mate and fellow freshman Jaland Lowe and their Pitt teammates in an attempt to take another run at the ACC championship in 2024-25.

“Next year, we’re going to try to be champs again,” he said. “I feel like me and Jaland are one of the best backcourts in the country, honestly. That’s just from playing with that guy, living with that guy, seeing how he works. He’s an amazing player.

“He definitely showed the world, he showed the bracketologists, or whatever that is, that we belong on the big stage (the NCAA Tournament). We’re coming back stronger, better. We can definitely make some real noise next year, for sure.”

Asked pointedly if he plans to return to Pitt for his sophomore season, Carrington said, “For sure.”

Carrington and Lowe put on a show — albeit in a losing cause — in the ACC semifinal against North Carolina. The Tar Heels’ ACC Player of the Year, R.J. Davis, scored 25 points and made several big plays in the final minutes to help defeat Pitt, 72-65.

Meanwhile, Carrington scored 24 and Lowe 17 points, giving them 63% of Pitt’s output. After 33 games, Carrington is averaging 13.8 and Lowe 9.6 points.

No doubt, three of the ACC’s best guards were at work on the same stage Friday night. Without naming any names, North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said Pitt has “future NBA players” on its roster.

Lowe said he has admired R.J. Davis’ game since both players were in high school.

“He’s been doing the same stuff since he was a kid,” Lowe said.

Carrington called Davis “an amazing player, a great player,” but he’s not trying to emulate his game or his career.

“I’m trying to be the best Bub,” he said.

Carrington and Lowe weren’t highly recruited players, but that didn’t stop coach Jeff Capel from making a determined effort to get them to sign Pitt letters of intent. Capel’s success in that area is a big reason Pitt advanced to the ACC semifinals for the first time in a decade.

“They were highly recruited by me. I knew how good they were,” Capel said. “I knew that the people that do those rankings, I knew they were wrong. I thought these two guys were as good as any two guards that I saw last year on the circuit or in high school.

“I think you’ve seen them grow up. You’ve seen them mature. You’ve seen them continue to get better. They’ve gotten better because they’re gym rats. They’re highly competitive, and they’re both extremely, extremely smart. They’re able to pick things up pretty quickly. They’re students of the game, and for us, it’s been a joy to be around them every day. It’s been really, really refreshing.”