Pitt's Jeff Capel pleased about Ithiel Horton's return, but he must work off 'some rust'

There’s plenty of speculation, but no one will know for sure how the first 13 games of Pitt’s season might have turned out if Ithiel Horton was a part of the team.

“We felt like coming into the season, he was our best shooter,” said coach Jeff Capel, whose team suffered its most recent four losses by a total of seven points.

But the junior guard is back and has been practicing with the Panthers since Friday after criminal charges accusing him of punching a city police officer were dismissed Thursday.

Coach Jeff Capel did not reveal a specific timetable for Horton’s return to the lineup. Pitt plays at Louisville (9-4, 3-0 ACC) on Wednesday, and Capel likely wants to keep Cardinals coach Chris Mack guessing.

Capel also said he has no knowledge of the Allegheny County District Attorney’s plan to refile the charges against Horton.

“I don’t know anything about the case. I haven’t asked Ithiel about it,” he said. “We’ve concentrated on the present. Those aren’t things we get involved with.”

Meanwhile, Capel continues to try to put the season on a progressive track. So far, Pitt (5-8, 0-2) is last among ACC schools in overall losses. If not Wednesday, Horton soon will become a big part of Capel’s recovery efforts.

“He looks good for not doing anything for two months,” the coach said. “There’s some rust there, which is expected.

“It’s great to have him back. I’m happy for him and look forward to integrating him into our game.”

While Horton was suspended, he was not permitted to drill with the team or meet or work out with its coaches and trainers.

“He’s been working out on his own,” Capel said.

Without Horton, Pitt fell to the bottom of the ACC (15th) in field goal percentage (40.9%). Horton averaged 8.9 points and shot 37.1% from the field last season — 38.1% from beyond the 3-point arc. As a team, Pitt is shooting 29.8% from long range in its first 13 games.

“He was a guy who had scored and played well at this level last year,” Capel said. “He gives us experience, gives us another guy with some pop. He can get by you offensively, just a different speed we haven’t had this season.”

Though Capel doesn’t expect Horton’s return to provide an immediate cure for what ails Pitt.

“It’s great to have him back, but we have to be realistic,” Capel said. “He hasn’t played basketball in two months. He hasn’t played five on five.

“As good as he is, I don’t care who you are, there’s a rhythm that comes from a game, from being under a whistle, from fans being in the stands, from all those different things that we know that is going to take time.”

To Capel’s credit, Pitt’s reconstructed roster has been gaining traction in the form of playing competitive basketball. The Panthers were 3-2 in their most recent games before Saturday’s scheduled game at Virginia Tech was postponed by covid complications within the Hokies’ program.

Recent events give Capel hope Pitt can turn around its 3-7 start to the season. Capel has praised his team for working hard, and others outside the program are noticing.

“We know who Pitt is,” Louisville coach Chris Mack said. “They play extremely tough. They’re a physical team. They change defenses. They get you on the glass. For us, it’s having the right mindset. You can’t back down. That’s what our message has always been against those guys.”

Three of Pitt’s past four losses have been by one point each. There was a tip-in with 2 seconds left by Minnesota, a jumper with 0.9 seconds to go at Virginia and a basket by Notre Dame’s Prentiss Hubb with 7 seconds remaining.

“They had a war with Notre Dame,” Mack said. “Hubb made something out of nothing, really. I don’t think he knew where he was going against their zone.”

If those three shots had missed, Pitt would be 8-5. But Capel said there’s more involved with Pitt’s season-long slump than what has occurred in the final seconds.

“To me, it’s even before that,” he said. “If we’re able to get a rebound. If we’re able to get a 50-50 ball. If we’re able to just finish plays like that, then the outcome is probably a little bit different. That’s what we have to learn. Every play is important, and you can’t relax.

“To me, that’s been the common thread. We have to be able to finish plays throughout the game. We’ve had some shots made against us, but I know there have been some things throughout the game.

“And in those last three, four minutes, if we do a little bit better and tighten up, maybe we’re not in that position where it comes down to a last-second shot.”