Matriculating from the Canary Islands, Diaz Graham twins make Pitt their 2nd home
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He attacks from behind, always with a weapon in his hands. Every day. And gets away with it.
“When he has that blocking pad in his hand, you better be ready for anything,” Pitt freshman Guillermo Diaz Graham said of associate head coach Tim O’Toole.
It’s all part of how O’Toole gets his big men ready for the rigors of the ACC. The soft blocking pad is meant to simulate the bumping and shoving associated with action in the paint.
“I’m not used to all the bumps (in games),” said Diaz Graham, a 7-foot freshman from the Canary Islands. “I’m working out with T.O., bumping everywhere, getting ready for the contact (to) just get tougher and get stronger.”
This is a season of transition for Diaz Graham and his 6-foot-11 twin brother, Jorge. Guillermo, who speaks Spanish, French and English, plays in the post, while Jorge is a wing player.
Coach Jeff Capel is thoughtful in his usage of the twins. Guillermo scored seven points in 30 minutes against VCU in November, six in 20 last Wednesday at Louisville. Then, he played in the seven-point loss to Florida State on Saturday for less than six minutes, only long enough to grab one rebound.
Jorge never got off the bench against the Seminoles, but he is averaging more minutes (11.3/8.6) and points (3.4/2.0) than his brother. Their rebound totals are similar (45 for Guillermo, 44 for Jorge).
Yet, with 6-foot-9 center John Hugley lost for the season, Pitt might need the twins’ length Wednesday against Wake Forest and in the crucial second half of the ACC season.
Florida State used four players 6-10 or taller. When Pitt (13-7, 6-3) meets Wake Forest (14-6, 6-3), the twins and starting 6-11 center Federiko Federiko must contend with 7-1, 250-pound Matthew Marsh and 6-10, 220 Andrew Carr. Guillermo’s listed weight is 205 pounds, Jorge 190.
In practice, Federiko gives Guillermo a workout under the basket.
“He’s hard to guard. I have to box him out,” Guillermo said. “I have to push him around. He’s pushing me back and I’m getting used to being pushed. I think it’s great for both. It’s more than we expected.
“Every one of the guys on the floor are pushing you. Be ready for 40 minutes of being pushed around.”
Jorge is only 1 inch shorter and 15 pounds lighter than his brother, but they play two distinctly different positions.
“I’ve always been taller and stronger than him, and he’s always been quicker than me, better footwork, more like a wing player,” Guillermo said. “Growing up, I just decided to stay in my floor position and post up and get open. It’s just how we grew up.”
In the Canary Islands, a Spanish community 62 miles off the coast of Morocco, the twins played basketball and soccer. No surprise, Guillermo was a goalkeeper.
In July, Guillermo helped the Spanish national team win the Under 20 European Championship, averaging 6.3 points and 1.7 blocks per game. Jorge was invited to train with the team.
Both attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where Jorge averaged 15.5 points, shot 44% beyond the 3-point arc and had seven 3s in one game. Guillermo averaged 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
That’s where they met O’Toole, a coach from a city called Pittsburgh that was largely unfamiliar to them.
Eventually, O’Toole met with the twins and their parents, Francisco Diaz and Elizabeth Graham.
“He told us about Pittsburgh,” Guillermo said, “how me and my brother could play together at Pitt. We made a visit here. We fell in love with Pittsburgh.”
He said they chose Pitt over Utah State, San Francisco and UMass because of “the people.”
“I have a family back home, far away,” Guillermo said. “(Pitt coaches) told me they would take care of me. It’s a big family here. That’s the No. 1 thing.”
Plus, there was the competition and the chance to grow.
“The ACC is big-time. We wanted a big challenge,” he said.
The twins weren’t obsessed with going to the same school, but Guillermo said Pitt made it seem right.
“At the last moment,” he said, “we felt like, ‘OK, we have to (stay) together because this thing is really good.’ ”
Guillermo, 19, said Pitt’s older players have helped their transition.
“I remember early in the season when I was not getting many minutes, all the guys came to me and said, ‘Be ready,’ ” he said.
Then, during the World Cup, the twins and their teammates formed another bond.
“Me, Fede, Jorge and Nate (Santos),” Guillermo said, “we were going to watch it by ourselves. Then, they put the games (on the TV) in the locker room. I got Greg (Elliott), I got Nelly (Cummings) watching and asking me (about the game).
“I’m going crazy in the locker room. These guys really care about me because they don’t care about soccer, but they get excited about a game they don’t know (about), just because they see me excited.
“Instead of watching it alone, I got the whole team doing it. You don’t feel like you’re that far away from home.”
The twins’ parents visited over the holidays, with Elizabeth making sure their refrigerator was well-stocked and fixing their favorite meal (steak, cooked with onions and dates).
“I had Fede and Nate try it. Two minutes, it was gone.”
Their parents watch Pitt games at 2 a.m. in the Canary Islands, but they were in town for the North Carolina and Virginia victories.
Guillermo told them, “We won both games. You have to move here.”