Pittsburgh Basketball: 3 biggest storylines for Panthers in 2020 offseason
Where Pittsburgh stands in the ACC
When Pittsburgh Basketball was in the Big East under Jaime Dixon, they were right up there with the rest of the top programs. Villanova wasn’t nearly the powerhouse they are now, while Louisville, UConn, Georgetown, Syracuse, and others were considered to be on the same level as the Panthers.
Since moving to the ACC though, Pittsburgh has had its fair share of struggles. Outside of their first year in the conference, the team has yet to finish over .500 in league play. The dreadful Kevin Stallings two-year era followed by Capel’s rebuilding efforts has dragged the overall records down, leaving the Panthers much closer to the bottom than to the top.
With heavyweight programs such as Duke and North Carolina around, it’s always going to be hard to be near the top of the ACC. National champion Virginia is here to stay, while Florida State currently has the No. 1 recruiting class for 2021. That doesn’t even include Louisville, who has found its footing under Chris Mack, or programs such as Notre Dame and Syracuse, who have been struggling themselves in the past couple of seasons.
Pittsburgh will have to have quality recruiting classes of their own in order to truly compete. They’ve done well with a top-30 incoming class but will need to find some top-50 recruits. The staff thought they had one coming with class of 2022 guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, who had originally committed to the program. However, his recent decision to reopen his recruitment is a brutal blow for the program, who knows that the odds of getting him back are slim to none.
dark. Next. A look at each ACC offense for 2020-21 season
Pittsburgh Basketball could get away with landing and developing three-star players in the Big East. But in the ACC, the program has to do well on the recruiting trail to keep up. It would help to have a great product on the court to convince top-100 talent to want to play for the Panthers, starting with the upcoming season. With Johnson, Champagnie, and others leading the way, look for the program to make a promising step back into relevance.