Pitt players head home for short Christmas break

In the year 2020, the NCAA Tournament was canceled, the subsequent season has been pockmarked with more cancellations and postponements and Pitt even lost men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel for one game after he tested positive for covid-19.

But a former adjunct professor at Fordham’s Graduate School of Business was able to put the situation in human terms Tuesday after Pitt’s first ACC loss of the season.

“There has to be some normalcy somewhere,” said Tim O’Toole, Pitt’s acting head coach in Capel’s absence.

Yes, the Pitt players are going home for Christmas, something Capel couldn’t guarantee earlier this month.

But Capel thought it was important for players to go home, be with family and recharge for the remaining 18 games of the ACC grind.

Pitt played Tuesday night, losing to Louisville, 64-54, at Petersen Events Center and many of the players left for home the next day.

“I hope you enjoy that time because as you get older, you realize how valuable that time is,” O’Toole said.

It’s a welcome — if brief — break, with players due back on campus Friday night for covid testing and weekend practice.

There isn’t time for much beyond warm hugs, with Pitt due to travel Monday to Durham, N.C., to confront No. 20 Duke on Tuesday.

“I’m looking forward to seeing my family,” Brooklyn-born freshman Femi Okudale said. “But I still have to take care of business. I know we have to keep working.”

After only two conference games, Pitt’s season has reached a critical stage with the loss of leading scorer and rebounder Justin Champagnie (knee) for the next six to eight weeks. The No. 2 player in those categories, Au’Diese Toney, is out on a day-to-day basis (ankle).

Capel’s return is also uncertain. Before the Louisville game, he was in contact with O’Toole, who described him Tuesday as “doing well … fatigued a lot.”

Meanwhile, the staff needs to figure out how to replace Champagnie’s production.

Without its two most productive players, Pitt played surprisingly well against Louisville, trailing only 46-43 with 9 minutes, 11 seconds left in the game. Still, Pitt’s 54-point total was its lowest since March 2 in a 73-49 loss at Virginia.

Odukale led Pitt with 16 points, and 6-foot-9 freshman Noah Collier and transfer Nike Sibande made their first Pitt starts. Collier played 27½ minutes, but grabbed only two rebounds. Sibande, who had been ineligible until Dec. 16 after transferring from Miami (Ohio), played 25½ and scored eight points.

Replacing the rebounding efforts of Champagnie and Toney won’t be easy. Expect to see more of 6-9, 240-pound freshman John Hugley, who played a season-high 24½ minutes and led Pitt with seven rebounds against Louisville.

Most encouraging was the play of Odukale, who scored 12 of his 16 points in a span of less than four minutes in the first half. He hit 5 of 9 shots in the first 20 minutes.

Later, he said he’s trying not to “overthink” his role on the team.

“If I miss my shot, I know my mom is still happy,” he said.

O’Toole expects everyone to step up in the coming weeks. Best case scenario has Champagnie returning for the second half of the ACC schedule.

Meanwhile, O’Toole said everyone else needs “to bring tremendous value and you better be incredibly tough.”

“We’re going to look through this and find all the nooks and crannies. Because that’s the only way we’re going to get better.”

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