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NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Ranking 7 finalists for 2020 F Earl Timberlake

By Matthew Travis

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: A general view in the first half between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 08: A general view in the first half between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 02: Head coach Jeff Capel of the Pittsburgh Panthers calls to his team as Sidy N’Dir #11 runs up the court in the first half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on March 2, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 02: Head coach Jeff Capel of the Pittsburgh Panthers calls to his team as Sidy N’Dir #11 runs up the court in the first half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on March 2, 2019 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

2. Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Panthers are Earl Timberlake’s second best option for one main reason and that is new head coach, Jeff Capel. Jeff Capel has a ton of coaching experience including being the head coach at VCU from 2002-2006, the head coach at Oklahoma from 2006-2011, an associate head coach at Duke from 2011-2018 and the Pitt head coach starting in 2018.

Capel was believed to be the next in line for the head coaching position at Duke once Coach K were to retire, but last season Capel made the decision to leave the school he played at, to go coach the Pittsburgh Panthers.

In Capel’s first year at reigns in Pittsburgh he took a team that went 8-24 overall and 0-18 in the ACC in 2017-18, to 14-19 and 3-15 in 2018-19. Yes having a winning percentage of .424 is nothing to celebrate, but once you consider the fact that they nearly doubled their win total from the year prior, it is a start.

Capel is a fantastic coach and the fact that some thought Duke would struggle a bit to pull in the major recruits they did while Capel was there just goes to show you his power. Having the chance to learn from Capel who is in the midst of turning the program around, might be a valuable experience.

Pitt is going through a complete revival when it comes to basketball and Timberlake could have the opportunity to help them get there in the ever-so-competitive, ACC. Not only would playing under Capel be valuable experience, but so would playing against the powerhouse teams of the ACC.

At Pitt Timberlake would easily get the minutes needed to make a name for himself while also having few expectations of the team. This could be good because if he is the best player on a team who made it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2016, he looks that much better.

He would be getting coached by someone who is among one of the better coaches not only in the ACC, but also in the country, while also getting the chance to be a hero on campus by bringing the Panthers back to the NCAA.

Pitt is more of a risk-reward destination for Timberlake, but it is somewhere that could truly work and you better believe he will be closely watching Pitt to see what they do early on in the 2019-20 season.

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