As a season that’s far from over but already has been underwhelming continues, a mid-September practice at Petersen Events Center remains fresh in the memory of Jeff Capel.
It was a preseason session and Capel, for the time being, had all the pieces he’d assembled for the campaign in front of him.
But as Capel soon found out, injuries were about to drastically alter the composition of his Panthers squad.
“That was really the first time and last time that we were whole as a team,” Capel said. “It was one of the first few workouts that Roman Siulepa was able to participate in, and it was the last one where Dishon Jackson was here. It was the first time we had everyone on the court, with how it looked and the vision we had for this team and how we would play. With injuries, that’s changed drastically.”
Jackson, a 6-foot-11 starting center at Iowa State last season, saw his transfer to Pitt derailed with a medical situation that sidelined him indefinitely before the regular season got underway.
Pitt (7-8, 0-2 ACC) didn’t specify what Jackson was dealing with, but surgery because of a genetic variation in his heart previously cost him an entire season while at Washington State.
While preparing to play in the NCAA Tournament with Iowa State last March, he told ABC’s affiliate in Cedar Rapids that he had a defibrillator implanted in his body.
From the jump, Pitt has struggled to make do minus Jackson’s rebounding, offensive contributions and rim protection.
The Panthers also entered the new year with more bad news on the injury front: sophomore forward Papa Amadou Kante was ruled out for the remainder of the season because of knee surgery.
Kante had been sidelined since Nov. 28. In the same announcement, the Panthers revealed fellow forward Amdy Ndiaye had departed the program.
Though Kante and Ndiaye, who hadn’t suited up all year, weren’t the statistical heartbeats of the Panthers through the season’s first 15 games, their absences have been felt across the board.
“It’s affected us in practice, how we practice, the things we can do and, certainly, it affects us in games, specifically in the frontcourt,” Capel said. “It is what it is. We have to figure out a way around it.”
On top of missing Jackson, Kante and Ndiaye, freshman forward Henry Lau underwent hand surgery in October and hasn’t played this season.
Unsurprisingly, it’s led to more minutes needing to be played by fewer players, as well as altering the kinds of lineups Capel can put on the floor.
Pitt’s only available center at the moment is freshman Kieran Mullen, who’s shown flashes but is still raw and averaging only 6.5 minutes.
Capel knows injuries aren’t an excuse, nor are they the only reason the Panthers have struggled.
He takes some consolation in Pitt being competitive during stretches against its first two ACC opponents, Miami and Clemson, if ultimately losing both games.
But moving forward, with the personnel he does have at his disposal, Capel will continue to search for solutions, expecting players to do their bit in the process, too.
“We have to fight, we have to figure it out. … That’s on us as a coaching staff, on us as a collective group with the players — it’s everything,” Capel said. “It’s how you get reps off the court, it’s how you’re doing your recovery, it’s the food that you put into your body. We’re trying to control what we can control when we’re here together, but everyone collectively as a group has to do their part.”
