Demetreus Gore, who played on Pitt’s first Big East regular-season championship teams in 1987 and ’88, died over the weekend. He was 54.
Pitt coach Jeff Capel tweeted in tribute to Gore, “RIP to a Panther great. Another brother gone too soon!”
RIP to a Panther great, Demetrius Gore. Another brother gone too soon! #H2P https://t.co/WNHRJXDzXK
— Jeff Capel (@jeffcapel) August 31, 2020
Gore was a four-year starter at Pitt from 1984-88, finishing 16th on the Panthers’ all-time scoring list with 1,555 points while starting all 93 games in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons. He started 97 consecutive games from February 1985, to March 1988, the sixth-longest such streak in school history.
In 122 games (112 starts), he averaged 12.7 points, with 394 rebounds. His totals of 645 field goals and 1,347 attempts rank ninth all-time in school history. He also is 10th at Pitt with a .790 free-throw percentage.
Gore reached 1,000 points in 74 games, 13th fastest all-time at Pitt.
He led Pitt in scoring as a sophomore with 466 points (16.1 per game) during the 1985-86 season, but he actually achieved his greatest fame the next two years while playing for two of the best teams in Pitt history.
During the 1986-87 and ’87-88 seasons, he was third in scoring to Charles Smith and Jerome Lane while helping Pitt win 49 of 64 games and finish 12th and eighth, respectively, in the final Associated Press polls. The ’88 team was ranked No. 2 in the nation in the midst of a 9-0 start to the season.
On Dec. 30, 1986, he put together one of the most productive 20 minutes of basketball in Pitt history when he scored 28 points in a half in a 98-82 victory against Wisconsin in the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Former Pitt coach Dr. Roy Chipman recruited Gore, who was named Michigan’s Mr. Basketball after his career at Detroit’s Chadsey High School. From 1980-86, he was the only Mr. Basketball in the state who didn’t attend Michigan or Michigan State.
I felt the loss of Cliff Robinson yesterday and I will ALWAYS miss his laugh. I appreciated his willingness to work with me on various projects. We share so much traveling together talking about our after basketball experiences. A loss to UConn and the NBA. #RIPCliffRobinson pic.twitter.com/E6RAo3OEAN
— CharlesDSmith (@CharlesDSmith54) August 31, 2020
