Former Robert Morris player Marcquise Reed will lead Clemson vs. Pitt
Four years later, Andy Toole doesn’t begrudge Marcquise Reed. “While he was here, he put his all into our program,” Robert Morris’ coach said of Clemson’s 6-foot-3 senior guard. Yet, there are wistful thoughts that occasionally cross Toole’s mind. “I would have loved to have coached him for four years,”...
Pitt looks to grad transfer from Michigan for help on offensive line
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi has returned to the graduate transfer pool for the third consecutive year in an attempt to fortify his offensive line. Nolan Ulizio, who played at Michigan the past four seasons, posted Sunday on Twitter his intention to play his final season of eligibility at Pitt. He...
Pitt’s improving defense, problems in post on display in loss at Louisville
There’s plenty of information to dissect following Pitt’s 66-51 loss to Louisville on Saturday. Some good, some bad. Let’s start with the good stuff. 1. Team defense improving Pitt played reliable defense for much of the game, holding the Cardinals to 66 points, their lowest total by 13 in seven...
Pitt fades down stretch in loss at No. 23 Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The shots weren’t falling for No. 23 Louisville on Saturday, so the Cardinals needed to make sure the same thing happened to Pitt. Jordan Nwora scored 17 points to help Louisville rally past Pitt, 66-51, and avenge its only conference loss this season. The Cardinals (15-5, 6-1...
3 reasons Pitt basketball has faded recently
Not long ago, Pitt had a 16-point lead on Louisville with 14 minutes, 37 seconds left in the second half. The Panthers survived in overtime 89-86 because they don’t know how to stop fighting. In the subsequent four games and the 19:37 left against Louisville, Pitt was outscored by 32...
Pat Narduzzi’s interesting history with his two new coaches
When an otherwise successful season ended with a three-game losing streak, Pat Narduzzi moved swiftly to fix the problem. He fired two coaches — the first time he did it with more than one assistant in the same offseason — and hired Mark Whipple as offensive coordinator and Chris Beatty...
Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi questions wisdom of college ‘free agency’
Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi may need to find a new holder for his kicking game next season, but he otherwise barely is affected by the NCAA’s transfer portal that ushers free agency into college athletics. But that doesn’t mean he likes it. “It’s become really a mess,” he said Friday...
‘Tough stretch’ for Pitt begins at No. 23 Louisville
The first order of business for Pitt freshman Au’Diese Toney at Louisville on Saturday will be to remain calm. “You always have to be level-headed and keep your composure,” he said. Still, there’s nothing wrong with talking to the guy you’re guarding, perhaps getting him riled up a bit as...
Pitt’s Darrin Hall prepares for Senior Bowl appearance
Darrin Hall’s all-star tour will continue Saturday when the Pitt running back suits up for the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., where he’ll attempt to improve his NFL Draft stock. He will become the first Pitt running back since Kevan Barlow in 2000 to appear in the Senior Bowl. Hall...
In wake of loss to Duke, 3 questions hanging over Pitt basketball
Petersen Events Center is energized again, with two Pitt basketball crowds already topping 12,000. How different is that? Average attendance at the Pete has fallen every season since 2014-15, finally hitting an all-time low of 4,117 last year. Students seated in the Oakland Zoo sections take great glee in cheering...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt needs to recruit top talent, and Jeff Capel is ready to run point
Jeff Capel wasted no words when asked about being associate coach to Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski or accepting the Pitt head coach job, even when those worlds were about to collide when the Panthers played the Blue Devils. “It’s not about me,” Capel said, repeatedly. That was his answer for the...
Jay-Z appearance at Pitt game wows Panthers, Duke
Like he insists has been his routine for every game, Zion Williamson had a go-to pregame hype-up song. “‘(It Was All A) Dream’ by Jay-Z, Faith Evans and Notorious B.I.G.,” the Duke freshman said proudly. “I can never go wrong with that song.” So, imagine Williamson’s joy when he saw...
Pitt/Duke lovefest ends when the game starts
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski professed great love for Pitt coach Jeff Capel after his team’s 79-64 victory Tuesday night at Petersen Events Center. Not surprising since Capel started for Krzyzewski for four years at Duke and was his trusted assistant coach for the past seven. But there are limits to...
The Pete regains magical atmosphere during Pitt’s revival
Forty-minutes before scheduled tip-off, there were arguably more people in the seating bowl of the Petersen Events Center than there were for 10 of Pitt’s 12 previous home games this season. Intangibly, probably more energy and delirium at that point than there was for any of the 18 home games...
Kevin Gorman’s Take 5: Blue Devils put on a show, roll past Panthers
With the Oakland Zoo bouncing and hip-hop legend Jay-Z bobbing his head to the beats of his own songs courtside, the Pitt-Duke game brought back memories of Petersen Events Center as an intimidating home court. That first-year Pitt coach Jeff Capel was coaching for the first time against his alma...
Schedule remains daunting for Pitt basketball
After the Oakland Zoo’s confetti was swept off the floor of Petersen Events Center and Pitt’s game against Duke on Tuesday night became a memory, another pressing matter remained for the Panthers. The rest of the season. Pitt will play only one game at Petersen Events Center through Feb. 5,...
Pitt puts up little resistance in home loss to No. 2 Duke
Duke’s 79-64 victory against Pitt in front of a noisy, sellout crowd at Petersen Events Center made coach Jeff Capel think. About his past and, of course, the present as his Panthers try to keep up with more talented teams in the ACC. Duke freshman forward Zion Williamson, projected to...
Former Pitt pitcher T.J. Zeuch earns invitation to Blue Jays’ major-league camp
Former Pitt pitcher T.J. Zeuch is making strides after only three seasons in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Zeuch, the highest MLB draft choice in Pitt baseball history and the 21st overall selection in the first round of the 2016 draft, has been invited to the Blue Jays’ major-league spring...
Pitt’s Phillippi tabbed ACC wrestler of week
Redshirt freshman Micky Phillippi was a bright spot for the 13th-ranked Pitt wrestling team last weekend in a 36-9 loss to No. 3 Oklahoma State. Phillippi, a Derry graduate, stunned No. 2-ranked Daton Fix, 3-1, at 133 pounds. The fourth-ranked Phillippi (13-1) handed Fix (21-1) his first loss as Pitt...
Narduzzi hires ex-Maryland assistant to coach wide receivers
Chris Beatty, who worked with Pitt assistant coaches Tim Salem and Dave Borbely in previous coaching stops and served under Penn State coach James Franklin at Vanderbilt, has been named wide receivers coach at Pitt. Beatty, 45, arrives at Pitt following three seasons at Maryland, where he coached receivers and...
Kevin Gorman: Pitt’s Jeff Capel learned the greatest lesson from Coach K at Duke
Jeff Capel understood when he accepted the Pitt coaching job that it would be an uphill climb, one for which he had been prepared for as a player and assistant coach at Duke under Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K isn’t just a mentor but one who did a masterful job building...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel calls Duke `the premier program in all of college athletics’
Jeff Capel said his team will take an important step in its rebuilding season Tuesday when it meets No. 2 Duke at Petersen Events Center. Duke is the gold standard of college basketball, according to Capel. “As you are trying to build a program, you want to play against the...
Pitt’s Jeff Capel recruited Zion Williamson to Duke. Now he must solve him.
The play authored by Duke’s Zion Williamson was so impressive, Jeff Capel was still talking about it two days later. The fact it happened Saturday against No. 3 Virginia, the nation’s top defensive team allowing only 52.9 points per game, just added to Williamson’s growing legend as a freshman. “He...
Loss to Syracuse part of Pitt’s growing-up phase
Growing pains reached up and stung Pitt on Saturday at the Carrier Dome. Although Pitt trailed by only one point early in the second half, Syracuse led by 20 at one point before finally winning, 74-63. The Panthers looked befuddled in the face of Syracuse’s 2-3 zone and ended up...
Tim Benz: Pitt draws high praise from Syracuse despite loss
SYRACUSE, N.Y. Last Monday, the basketball teams that played Saturday at the Carrier Dome took big steps forward. Pitt toward becoming a legitimate ACC program again by upsetting 11th-ranked Florida State at home. Syracuse toward being a legitimate Sweet 16 threat again by upsetting top-ranked Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium....
