Pitt notebook: Bittersweet weekend for athletic director Heather Lyke
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GREENSBORO, N.C. — The 16 or so hours between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon carried Heather Lyke from one emotional focal point to another.
First, Pitt senior Nino Bonaccorsi (Bethel Park) won a wrestling national championship at 197 pounds Saturday night in Tulsa, Okla. Pitt’s athletic director was with the basketball team and unable to attend the wrestling event, but she phoned coach Keith Gavin and texted Bonaccorsi, who apologized for not getting back to her until Sunday morning.
Gavin had been the only Pitt wrestling national champion in the previous 15 years.
“I told Keith,” Lyke said, “that I was tired of saying you were the last NCAA champion at Pitt. Nino took care of that.”
Basketball didn’t turn out as well, with Pitt losing to Xavier, 84-73, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at Greensboro Coliseum.
She was disappointed, but her overriding theme while speaking to reporters after the game concentrated on Pitt’s 24 victories and its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2016.
“You never stop believing,” she said. “(Coach) Jeff (Capel) worked at it, and the whole coaching staff did, and this team did. Nothing gets turned, in my opinion, overnight if you’re doing it the right way. It takes some time. The foundation he had laid is coming out.”
Lyke, who hired Capel a year after assuming her duties as athletic director in 2017, called the basketball team “one of the most selfless teams I’ve ever been around, genuinely a joy to be around these kids.”
“They care about one another. They care about Pitt. They’re unselfish in their play. I hope they recognize what an incredible jolt of energy and life and pride that they did instill in our fan base.”
She said the rejuvenation of the program started five years ago when Capel was hired weeks after Pitt lost all 19 ACC games.
“This is a culmination of a lot of work, a lot of time and a lot of right kids in the program at the right time,” she said. “I think it will only get better from here. I have great expectations, as I’ve always had for coach Capel, but no one has greater expectations than him, himself.”
Guiding lights
Capel has repeatedly talked about the improvement of freshman twins Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham, and Pitt has needed them all season after losing three scholarship players.
Jorge scored seven points in eight minutes against Xavier, playing mainly as a 6-foot-11 wing man. Guillermo, a 7-foot post player, filled up his stat line with 11 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and two assists over 34 minutes.
“I mean, they work,” Capel said. “They enjoy the process. They’re not afraid of it.”
But they also were fortunate, the coach said, to land on a team with four strong senior leaders: Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Nike Sibande and Greg Elliott.
“I think one of the main things, and something that’s been different in our program this year that we’ve not had since I’ve been here, is that they were very fortunate to have these four guys,” Capel said, “because these four guys are really good examples of what a good college basketball player should look like or can look like if you put in the work, if you put in the time, if you are serious about it.
“So I think they will continue to grow and get better.”
No. 1 — barely
Blake Hinson, who has another year of eligibility available next season, ended the season as Pitt’s leading scorer.
He averaged 15.277 points with a total of 550, barely edging out Burton (15.235, 518 in two fewer games).
Hinson also shot 38% from 3-point range (97 of 255).
Giving the knee some rest
Federiko Federiko played 11 minutes Friday but only one Sunday while recovering from a knee injury.
“When Federiko came in the game, he was limping as he was running up and down the court,” Capel said. “I’m not going to put him in a position where he could cause any further damage, so I made that decision not to play him any more the rest of the game.”
Defensive leakage
Pitt’s defense played better in the first two games of the tournament than it had in the five games before it, allowing Mississippi State and Iowa State a combined 100 points. Xavier scored 84 on Sunday, marking the sixth game since Feb. 25 the Panthers allowed between 78 and 96 points.
“Like I said before this game, Iowa State was not as good of an offensive team as Xavier,” Capel said. “Xavier has been an elite offensive team all year. They were moving with great pace. They made seven 3s in the first half. The ball had energy.”
Xavier was efficient on offense, recording 22 assists on 30 baskets and shooting 47.6% from the field with only eight turnovers.
“So, that’s who they’ve been. We couldn’t disrupt their rhythm,”Capel said.