'Compete every possession': Jeff Capel lays out new-look Pitt's blueprint for success
The preseason is all but over, no more exhibitions remain and from now on, when Pitt takes the court, a tally in the win or loss column will follow.
But who is this 2025-26 Panthers team that prepares to begin its campaign Monday at Petersen Events Center vs. Youngstown State?
Not even Jeff Capel, entering his eighth year at the helm in Oakland, knows that just yet, but he can already tell you who the Panthers are not.
“We can’t be a team that just thinks we can show up,” Capel said. “There’s a certain way we have to show up. We aren’t one of these teams that just is going to out-talent you. We’re not. That’s not who we are. We have talent, but we don’t have the type of talent that some of these teams do. But if we’re tough, together and play with an edge … we can be a really good team.”
Newcomers vastly outnumber returning faces on the roster of players who will look to execute Capel’s blueprint for success this season.
Gone are Jaland Lowe, Ish Leggett, Damian Dunn, Zack Austin and the Diaz Graham twins from Capel’s squad that a year ago missed the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, finishing 17-15 (8-12 ACC).
When graduation and the transfer portal thinned his ranks, Capel sought out to construct a new team. The result was nine new players, four from the portal and five from the preps/international ranks, joining Pitt’s only two returnees with starting experience, Cam Corhen and Brandin Cummings.
Damarco Minor, brought in from Oregon State, replaces Lowe at point guard and prepares to play his 100th career college game Monday.
However, behind Corhen, Cummings and Minor, a long list of players such as true freshmen Omari Witherspoon and Macari Moore, plus transfers Nojus Indrusaitis (Iowa State) and Barry Dunning Jr. (South Alabama), will need to prove they can hack it in the ACC.
“Last year, you maybe felt like you had some knowns, whereas this year, there are a lot of unknowns,” Capel said. “…When you look at Nojus, you look at Omari, at (Moore), Barry — there’s a lot of inexperience there at this level, at the high-major level.”
Capel and Co. suffered a major preseason blow when Dishon Jackson, arguably Pitt’s crown-jewel portal addition, was ruled out indefinitely due to a medical situation in early October.
Jackson was expected to start at center for Pitt and bring something resembling the 8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game he averaged as a starter with Iowa State in 2024-25.
Without him, Pitt is thin in the post/paint, as true freshman Kieran Mullen is the only available center, who will likely be augmented in his duties by a combination of the versatile Corhen and Papa Amadou Kante.
A potential early taste of struggles to come on the glass was seen in Pitt’s exhibition win over Providence, when the Panthers were out-rebounded by five while winning the game, 81-74.
However, even without Jackson, Capel has set an expectation of being tougher overall defensively this season.
“Learning from last year, we’re a little more physical,” Cummings said. “There were games where we just got out- I mean, (people) saw it. There were games where we were getting moved out of the way, people were going right by us, we weren’t boxing anybody out. So I think it was a point this year for everybody to be physical. I think (Capel) went out and recruited that way and he did his job well.”
Indrusaitis and Dunning have the opportunity to be major pieces for Pitt this season.
Dunning’s nomadic collegiate career continues in Oakland following prior seasons at Arkansas, UAB and last year, South Alabama, where he was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection, averaging 15.1 points and 7.2 boards per contest.
Indrusaitis, like Jackson, arrived from Iowa State, but only played sparingly last season as a true freshman.
A 6-foot-5 guard, Indrusaitis chipped in 11 points vs. Providence and 18 in Pitt’s final exhibition Oct. 26 against Pitt-Johnstown.
“We’ve got a tough team, we play hard, I like the way we play defense and I like the way we share the ball,” Indrusaitis said of the Panthers following two scrimmages. “Offensively, I feel like we’ve got a lot to improve (upon), which is the exciting part about this team. I’m excited to take it day by day and keep getting better.”
Witherspoon, who earned a start against Pitt-Johnstown, and Moore, two of Capel’s promising true freshmen, could be positioned to see extended minutes this season.
A major wild-card for Pitt will be 6-foot-6 Australian forward Roman Siulepa, who’s showcased athleticism and physicality but is still raw in adjusting to the North American game.
Both of the Panthers’ exhibitions over Providence and Pitt-Johnstown resulted in wins, but also featured periods of inadequate play that Capel doesn’t want to see turn into recurring issues.
Both the Friars and Division II Mountain Cats built early leads. Providence out-toughed Pitt on the glass while Pitt-Johnstown shot lights-out for the entire first half before being routed by the Panthers.
Through all the preseason’s practices, exhibitions, film studies and on-court work, Capel has made clear what it will take for Pitt to reach its full potential.
“We need to play with a sense of urgency every second that we’re out there on both sides of the floor,” Capel said. “There has to be urgent talk, urgent movement, we have to be unbelievably connected, there has to be a toughness that’s there, we have to compete every possession and we have to be dialed in and locked in every possession. … If we don’t do those things, then we’re not as good as maybe we think we are. There’s a certain way that we have to play.”
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
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