When John Hugley, Ithiel Horton are functioning properly, Pitt is a different team

The mind wanders, wondering what if …

• Ithiel Horton had played the entire season for Pitt?

• His arrest never happened, and he was able to employ his long- and mid-range marksmanship in those five games that were lost by five or fewer points?

Would 10-16 — Pitt’s current overall record — look better, perhaps all the way to 13-13?

We’ll never know, and Pitt coach Jeff Capel likely doesn’t think much about it. He’s a coach, after all, and those guys don’t play the what-if game (at least, not publicly).

But here’s what N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said after his team lost to Pitt, 71-69, on Saturday:

“(Horton) gives them an outside threat they haven’t had most of the year,” he said. “It changes their team a little bit. His ability to make shots opens a lot of stuff up for (John) Hugley.”

Horton is averaging 10.6 points per game while shooting 39.7% — fine numbers and slightly better than what he did last year (8.9 and 38.1%). He hss played in only seven games, but Horton scored eight of Pitt’s final 10 points Saturday against N.C. State.

Not bad for a player who was asked to play 39 minutes while his body is still adjusting to the rigors of a demanding schedule that included practice one day, game the next for much of the past week.

He said it has been difficult to get in proper condition after missing most of the season.

“It was real tough,” he said. “My body is still adjusting to that. I’ve been trying to mentally push through it. I’m going to be playing these minutes, so whether I like it or not, I have to get back.”

Taking speculation one step further: What if Hugley had not been suspended last season, and he had an opportunity to work out his growing pains in 2021?

He wouldn’t have scored 21 points, with 10 rebounds and six assists, every game like he did against N.C. State. But he might have scored more than two in each of the losses to Virginia Tech. In those games, he was hitting the freshman wall in his sophomore season.

Back to reality, Pitt has the opportunity to assemble productive inside and outside games over the final five regular-season games. But Capel will need Horton and Hugley to at least approach what they did to N.C. State.

Coaches have spent considerable time with Hugley, on and off the court.

“You teach. You talk to him,” Capel said. “You watch a lot of tape with him. You work with him in practice. You show him the things that are open. You hope he’s able to figure it out. You hope he’s receptive and doesn’t get too down on himself, which he’s been.

“He’s been receptive. He’s been down on himself, but he did a really good job (Saturday). The biggest thing with him is the discipline to do it every day.”

Hugley explained how he snapped out of a slump in which he scored a total of 11 points in the three games before Saturday.

“I had to stay more disciplined and listen to what the coach is telling me,” he said. “I’m happy I’m back to help out my brothers.”

The key for Hugley is to stay grounded when the double teams approach. He did that Saturday and set up teammates for important baskets.

“I just have to make better passes,” he said. “Seeing the open man and taking my time. Keep staying solid.”

Pitt will need Hugley, Horton, Jamarius Burton and any teammate who suddenly gets hot over the final three weeks of the regular season.

Pitt beat Florida State and N.C. State last week, but those teams have lost six games in a row each.

Starting Wednesday at North Carolina, Pitt plays the four teams sitting atop the ACC standings, including Duke and Notre Dame (tied for first) and Miami and North Carolina (tied for second).

Is Pitt’s two-game winning streak a product of the opponents’ weaknesses as much as the Panthers’ strengths?

Or is Pitt actually gathering real momentum?

Horton made no promises as to how the final five games will turn out, but he said the team is building chemistry, an admirable achievement after so many struggles this season.

“We’re accepting our identity and who we are and how we play,” he said.

It’s a distinct improvement over last season’s dysfunctional team that had two starters quit in February.

How was chemistry achieved this season in the midst of so many losses?

“Just keep playing,” Horton said. “That’s the only way you’re going to get chemistry. If you don’t have any chemistry, what are you going to do? Stop playing?

“Keep playing. Keep getting better.”