Pitt guard Trey McGowens' improved play may be tied to something you can't see

Trey McGowens said he worked “harder than ever” getting ready for his sophomore season at Pitt.

He also watches video with a more experienced eye, looking for an edge that might mean the difference between winning and losing — some things he might have missed last season as a freshman.

The results are showing up on the court. McGowens is averaging 13.8 points and 19.5 in the past four after finishing at 11.6 last season. Plus, he has handed out 55 assists in 16 games, matching his total in 33 games last season.

But there must be more behind his sophomore resurgence.

Is it the shoes?

He has played in the same shoes for the past three games, starting Jan. 8 with the victory against North Carolina.

“I believe in sticking with what works,” he said. But he said he’ll only continue to wear them “until I get a little bit more money in my pocket” to buy another pair.

If he’s willing to change shoes, his improved play might be tied to something else he doesn’t plan to change.

Maybe it’s his underwear.

McGowens said he received a couple of pairs of leopard-print Ethicas ($24.95 on Amazon) for Christmas.

“I practiced in them one day, and it just felt super comfortable,” he said. “I just feel like I can move in those.”

Whatever the reason — hard work, video study, shoes or expensive underwear — McGowens has become the lead guard on a Pitt team that also includes sophomore Xavier Johnson, whose name appeared on some NBA mock drafts before the season.

McGowens has a different, more confident outlook this season “after seeing last year how I got down on myself and how it affected the team. I’m trying to stay in it.”

He hit what some people call the freshman wall last season. After scoring 33 and 30 points against Louisville and Florida State in January 2019, he failed to reach double digits in 11 of the last 16 games.

But this season he has a stronger, more familiar relationship with the coaching staff in the second year of Jeff Capel’s time as coach.

“I feel like as I build that relationship, it helps me as a leader,” he said.

It’s too early to suggest Pitt’s season has reached a crossroads, but the team is starving for a victory.

The Panthers (10-6, 2-4 ACC) are 1-3 in conference games since the start of the new year, with all four games decided by single-digit margins. The rematch with North Carolina (8-8, 1-4) is at noon Saturday at Petersen Events Center.

At a most opportune time, freshman Justin Champagnie has picked up his game, averaging a near double-double in his past six games (14.5 points and nine rebounds). He said the young Pitt team, with only one scholarship senior active, is taking lessons learned in recent close defeats and hoping to apply the knowledge, beginning Saturday.

“We know it’s rough to lose like that,” Champagnie said. “We look at it as the little tic-tac things we do during the game can decide the game.

“We’re young so we don’t look at it as those certain plays can hurt us, but we’re starting to realize what it takes to actually win a lot of games in a row.”

The hope in Pitt’s locker room is realization will make a difference, with tough games at Syracuse and Duke upcoming before the end of the month.

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