Pittsburgh Basketball: 5 major offseason storylines for Panthers in 2021

Jan 16, 2021; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers players huddle on the court before a free throw against the Syracuse Orange during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Pittsburgh won 96-76. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

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Pittsburgh Basketball Femi Odukale Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Pittsburgh’s starting point guard for 2021-22

With Xavier Johnson now off to the Indiana Hoosiers, the Panthers will have a new starting point guard for next season. As expected, the staff has been in the portal targeting ball-handlers, most notable Marshall grad transfer Jarrod West. However, he opted to go to the fellow ACC program in Louisville instead.

So as of now, that leaves Pittsburgh with Femi Odukale, a former three-star prospect that played on average 20 mpg last season, averaging 6.6 ppg and 2.2 apg. The 6’5 guard was mainly the backup to Johnson but he had some big moments, including 16 points against Louisville, 18 versus NC State, and 28 against Miami on 11/16 shooting to end the season.

That performance was the last thing Panther fans saw and even though it came in a losing effort, gave huge optimism that Odukale can be good enough to start and play good minutes for the Panthers next season. Still, he has just five starts on his resume and there’s a difference between having no tape on you and being heavily scouted in a league filled with quality game-planning head coaches.

Considering Odukale is the lone true ball-handler on the roster, Pittsburgh will certainly be in the market for another point guard, even if just a grad transfer that can offer experience and stability if Odukale still needs to be brought up slowly. But the Panthers are in a rough spot in the free-agent market in that they aren’t good enough to land really talented players that can play in the ACC but can’t just offer anyone in the portal that isn’t good enough to warrant minutes.

Teams such as Arkansas, Florida, and USC are landing point guards right now so the number of power conference teams who need starting ball-handlers is starting to dwindle. So there’s still a possibility that a talented point guard will remain and look at the Panthers as a real opportunity to play in the ACC and carve out a role. Odukale has real long-term promise but the best thing for the team next season is to have a junior or senior that can both compete and mentor the young guard.

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