Bulked-up Diaz Graham twins ready to attack sophomore season at Pitt
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Although they might bicker over who is supposed to do the dishes and if Messi or Ronaldo is the world’s best soccer player, Jorge and Guillermo Diaz Graham carry with them the love of family, team and their homeland while preparing for their sophomore basketball season at Pitt.
When the twins speak of the connectivity that carried Pitt into the NCAA Tournament last season, it always comes back to family, the one that raised them in the Canary Islands and the one that adopted them inside Petersen Events Center.
“Respect for each other, care for each other,” Guillermo said Tuesday after practice. “We’re in this together. We fight for each other. It’s a family here. How you act in your family. How you treat your brother, how you treat your dad, your mother. It’s kind of like the same thing.”
That’s the reason the 20-year-old sophomores decided this offseason to forgo an opportunity to play with the Spanish national team. In the eyes of the almost-identical brothers, Pitt’s success during the 2023-24 season came first.
“It’s always a blessing to play with your national team,” Jorge said. “But we knew coming into this season, we needed to put some weight on. So we had a plan, and we had to stay here in order to do it. It’s tough, but sometimes you have to do stuff you don’t like. We did it. It worked out.”
They made the sacrifice to stay on Pitt’s campus this summer and work with their coaches and trainers on adding bulk to their 7-foot (Guillermo) and 6-11 (Jorge) frames.
So, perhaps, if Pitt wins a big game this season thanks to one of the twins throwing around his newfound weight, coach Jeff Capel can thank his strength and conditioning staff, the people who market protein shakes and, of course, Elizabeth Graham.
The role of the mother in this story can’t be minimized.
“When we went back to Spain in April, I gained 10 pounds,” Jorge said. “My mom, she missed us so much she was always cooking for us.”
After that, back in the U.S., it was protein shakes in the morning, almost-daily workouts and as much food as they could handle. Jorge bulked up from 190 to 210 pounds. Brother Guillermo went from 205 to 220.
What can they do with their extra weight?
Jorge said it might help him become a better defender, and Guillermo, who averaged 3.5 points and 3.2 rebounds as a freshman last season, said he feels more athletic.
“If you saw the games last year, to be able to guard those guys and box them out, we had to give 100% of our energy,” Guillermo said, “while those guys were pushing around 50%. I know I can hit them harder (now) and go for a rebound.
“I feel faster than before. I feel stronger. I feel I can move guys better. Now, guys can’t push me around. I jump quicker and higher, more powerful. Now, it’s easier to back guys down and score over them.”
Jorge (2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds) has recovered fully from a broken foot he suffered this summer. The injury prevented him from playing in two games during Pitt’s trip to Spain and the Canary Islands in August.
He said he’s encouraged that he has returned, pain-free, to practice, but it was difficult not being able to play in Spain with family and friends watching. Yet it was OK, he said, because he was able “to watch my brother play in front of my family.”
The trip was not only a bonding experience for the entire team, but a chance for the twins to show off their beloved native land to coaches and teammates.
“We always talk about our home and how nice it is,” Guillermo said. “But having the chance to show them, and teammates enjoying it …
”It’s really nice. I’m not joking. It’s really nice,” he said of the Canary lslands. “(Teammates) enjoying it, telling me how great it is, showing my family what I do every day and who I share my life right now with, it’s incredible.”
He said his favorite moment occurred when strength coach Vince Williams told the brothers, “Now, I know why you guys are smiling every day. If I was born and raised here, I would be smiling every day, too.”
The twins did a lot of smiling last season when they found themselves in the NCAA Tournament as freshmen. Guillermo said the moment that meant the most to him surfaced after the one-point victory against Mississippi State in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. Guillermo’s shot block at the end preserved the victory.
“That game took my soul,” he said. “At the end of the game, I just wanted to fall on the floor and start crying. That game took everything from me. It was beautiful.”
But the new season brings new challenges. ACC basketball isn’t easy for anyone, but at least the second year won’t be a surprise to the twins.
“We know more now so we can be comfortable in those (difficult) situations,” Jorge said. “UNC was a really hard game at UNC. That stadium is huge.
“Last year was kind of scary sometimes. Syracuse was kind of scary. But I feel like now we’ve experienced that. So we know what we’re getting into.“