Pittsburgh Basketball: Panthers land class of 2020 3-star Femi Odukale

Pittsburgh Basketball adds to its 2020 recruiting class with a commitment from Femi Odukale.

Pittsburgh Basketball head coach Jeff Capel added to his 2020 recruiting class with the commitment of three-star shooting guard Femi Odukale Jr. on Tuesday. Odukale, who announced his decision via Instagram, took an official visit to Pitt on Feb. 21.

“I felt like I was in the city again,” Odukale told Adam Zagoria of ZAGSBLOG. “Everything was just busy; there’s multiple restaurants and the atmosphere.”

The Brooklyn (NY) native chose Pitt over nine other offers, including St. Bonaventure, Seton Hall, UMass, Virginia Tech, and Washington State. Seton Hall and UMass were also finalists for his services. He averaged 17.2 points, 8.1 assists, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.7 steals while also shooting over 40% from beyond the arc during his final prep campaign at Springfield Commonwealth Academy (Mass.).

Odukale is considered to be a point guard by trade, but he can play both backcourt positions as well as the wing. The 6-5 guard is long and athletic, who can get to the rim off the dribble. He also has a nice shooting stroke and is an outstanding passer.

Odukale is rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 380 best prospect in the class by 247Sports. Rivals also have him as a three-star recruit. He is the fourth member of Capel’s current recruiting class, joining frontcourt prospects John Hugley along with Noah Collier and Max Amadasun. The Panthers could add another player to the recruiting class with Ryan Murphy’s recent transfer.

Pitt struggled down the stretch during stretch this past season, losing seven of its last eight games with their only win coming at home against Wake Forest. The Panthers finished 16-17 overall, marking their fourth straight losing season, and 6-14 in the ACC. The good news is that they are expected to return their top four performers, led by freshman Justin Champagnie, from this past season. Champagnie was one of three players in double-figures and led the team in scoring (12.7) as well as rebounds (7.0). Xavier Johnson (11.9 ppg, 4.9 apg, 3.7 rpg) led the team in assists while Trey McGowens (11.5 ppg, 3.6 apg, 3.3 rpg, 1.9 spg) topped the team in steals.

With the addition of Odukale and Delaware transfer Ithiel Horton, Pitt’s backcourt is quite crowded. Johnson and McGowens are expected to once again start in the backcourt with Champagnie likely manning the 3. Au’Diese Toney could start at the 3 or 4, or he or Champaignie could come off the bench.

Horton is expected to be one of the first players off the bench, meaning that Odukale will likely be out of Capel’s main rotation. Eric Hamilton will more than likely be the fifth starter though Hugley and/or Collier will probably be given every opportunity to start at either the 4 or 5 as well.