Pitt lands twin Canary Islands big men Guillermo, Jorge Diaz Graham

When Pitt assistant coach Tim O’Toole first saw the Diaz Graham twins — Guillermo and Jorge — play basketball at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., he immediately knew how he wanted to recruit them.

“He didn’t blink,” IMG post-grad coach Jimmy Carr said. “It wasn’t, ‘Which one should I take? Which one is better?’ After the first time seeing them, he said, ‘I’ll take both right now.’

“They did a really, really good job of staying in touch with these guys.”

O’Toole and his boss, Jeff Capel, saw the results of their pursuit come to fruition Wednesday when the big forwards, who are natives of the Canary Islands off the coast of Spain, committed and signed with Pitt.

Guillermo is 6-foot-11, and his brother about an inch shorter, but Carr said they are not typical centers.

“They are 4s who can play on the wing,” he said. “Their shooting and play-making ability really make them good additions to that roster.”

Guillermo and Jorge graduated from high school in the Canary Islands in 2021 before matriculating to IMG.

Their team played a national schedule this season and finished 30-6 while averaging 89 points.

“They are two of the biggest reasons for that,” Carr said. “They are so skilled. They shoot the ball great. They know how to play. Their energy every day was absolutely terrific.

“Over the course of the year, they just kept getting better and better.”

In addition, Carr said, “they are very, very good students, really, really bright kids.”

The twins had scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Maryland, Utah, Fordham, Eastern Michigan, UC-Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. Carr said there also was interest from Florida before they arrived at IMG.

Although the twins played only one season at IMG, Carr said they displayed “great teammate-ship.”

“They were postive, really, really unselfish,” he said. “Their passing was contagious. Our guys rallied with them.”

Carr said they took visits to several schools during their recruitment.

“(Pitt) was their first visit and after that, I really saw a switch in those guys of what they wanted to do going to college,” Carr said.

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“In Guillermo and Jorge, we are adding a pair of talented forwards with well-rounded skill sets that not only complement one another but also our current roster of players,” Capel said in a statement. “They have both shown excellent shooting ability out to the 3-point line as well as a strong overall feel for the game. They have each steadily improved their strength and overall athleticism since arriving in the United States last year and are poised to make an impact at the college level. We are excited to add them to our program and help them continue to develop their games”

Ranked No. 89 in the nation by On3 Player Rankings, Guillermo led the Spanish U18 National Team to a 5-0 record at the 2021 FIBA Europe Challengers tournament in Skopje, Macedonia, last summer. He averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game in five starts. He also shot 55.6% from the field (70.8% on 2-point attempts).

At IMG, Guillermo averaged 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.1 blocks and shot 32% from 3-point range.

Jorge played well at the National Prep Showcase in February by hitting six 3-pointers and finishing with 33 points against Combine Academy and scoring 22 points in another game. He was ranked No. 76 overall in the most recent On3 2022 Player Rankings.

At IMG, Jorge averaged a team-high 15.5 points with 5.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.9 blocks and shot 44% from behind the arc.

The twins are the fourth and fifth new players added to Pitt’s roster this offseason, joining former point guard Colgate guard Nelly Cummings, 6-7 Ole Miss transfer Blake Hinson and 6-11 junior college transfer Fede Federiko. They are the ninth set of siblings to play together at Pitt and the first since Orlando and Oliver Antigua (1995-1998).