Right mix of transfers has Pitt men’s basketball pointed in upward direction
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When Jeff Capel assembled his roster in what is a pivotal season for him at Pitt, he couldn’t have known how the first half of the season would evolve.
Like the singularly focused coach that he is, he put his head down, went to work and ignored the outside noise. His players did the same, and Pitt (11-4, 4-0) finds itself tied for first place in the ACC with No. 12 Miami.
It is only early January, but dare we mention the possibility … ?
Could the Panthers be ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 next week for the first time since Jan. 11, 2016, when Jamie Dixon’s last Pitt team reached No. 20 in the poll?
Of course, it will take a Pitt victory Saturday against Clemson (12-3, 4-0) at Petersen Events Center to impress the voters. Pitt would be 5-0 in the ACC, 12-4 overall and winners of six in a row and 11 of 12.
That might be enough, considering Pitt’s game log includes back-to-back victories against ranked teams North Carolina and Virginia.
But getting ranked in the Top 25 won’t impress Capel, even a little bit. He’ll be too busy preparing for the game at Duke next Wednesday.
Ranked or not, Capel deserves credit for assembling a winning team with so many new faces arriving from various parts of the country. Every member of the starting five, plus sixth man Nike Sibande, transferred into Pitt in the past two years. Credit Capel for adapting to the changing landscape of college athletics, tapping into the portal and building a team with veteran players.
Capel especially likes how well players get along, even though many of them were strangers before 2022.
“There’s no jealousy. There’s no pointing fingers. It’s a pretty cool thing to be around,” Capel said.
Two of the transfers who have been instrumental in Pitt’s current run of good fortune are point guard Nelly Cummings and 6-foot-7 forward Blake Hinson.
Cummings has an impressive stat line that includes 10.7 points per game, 5.1 assists per game, remarkable accuracy from the foul line (24 of 25) and a team-high average of 32.7 minutes played.
Even when the basketballs are put away, Cummings makes significant contributions, Capel said.
“He has been all about winning, just consumed with winning,” he said. “Whatever he can do to help us win, whether it’s to help us recruit someone, be here when we have someone here for an official visit, talking to guys individually, pulling guys aside, watching extra tape, getting other guys in with him to watch extra tape, all of those things.”
Cummings’ presence already helped lure a prospect from the high school class of 2024: his brother Brandin, a junior at Lincoln Park who made a verbal commitment Wednesday. Currently, Capel has three signed commitments for his class of 2023.
Cummings arrived with a history of recent success, averaging a team-high 14.7 points last season at Colgate.
But how do you explain Hinson, who missed two entire seasons before enrolling at Pitt this year?
Hinson leads the Panthers in scoring (17.0) and rebounding (7.0) while trying Capel’s patience with his shot selection. He has attempted more overall shots (177, 48%) and 3-pointers (88, 35.2%) than any of his teammates, but he has yet to hinder the cause.
“Blake has convenient amnesia, which is a really good thing for a good scorer,” Capel said. “For me, I have to be careful because, at times, he doesn’t take great shots. But I have to be OK with that.
“There are other times where he will make shots that makes us look good as coaches. That’s something you can’t teach. He’s not afraid of the moment. He actually loves the moment.”
Hinson is just happy being part of something after two seasons of inactivity, and he’s not wasting the opportunity.
“What you see is someone who has so much joy of being able to play basketball, be part of a team, be part of a program and be part of a community,” Capel said, “and to have people who believe in him, which is us and his teammates and these fans.”
Pitt didn’t have an encouraging start to the season, losing by 31 to Michigan (presently unranked) among three defeats in its first four games. The only time Hinson didn’t score in double digits was the West Virginia game Nov. 11, when he managed only five in a 25-point loss.
Now, Pitt has a chance to vault Michigan and West Virginia in its climb toward national relevancy.
“Early in the season, we were figuring each other out,” Cummings said. “Now, we’re to the point we’re really locked in with each other and trying to do everything we can to help each other.”
Added Capel: “We’ve played through adversity, which has made us stronger, which has made us tougher.”