Pittsburgh Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Panthers

After two years of growing pains into the Jeff Capel era and overall rebuild, Pittsburgh Basketball looked as if they were taking the leap back into NCAA Tournament contention last season. After beating the Duke Blue Devils to start out the campaign 8-2, the Panthers were firmly in the at-large picture for the post-season.

And that was the last sign of optimism for the program.

Pittsburgh finished the rest of the 2020-21 season with a 2-9 record to finish overall 10-11 (6-10). That includes bad losses to Wake Forest, Notre Dame, and NC State (twice), squandering a historical campaign from star forward Justin Champagnie, who had the first-ever back-to-back 20-point and 20-rebound games in program history and averaged 18.0 ppg and 11.1 RPG overall on the season.

Champagnie was part of a three-headed monster with guards Au’Diese Toney and Xavier Johnson, all of whom averaged double figures and were key pieces of the Panthers’ rebuild. However, reported chemistry and leadership issues in the locker room seemed to have derailed the team from ever reaching its potential. All three are now gone, with Toney off the Arkansas, Johnson to Indiana, and Champagnie to the Toronto Raptors of the NBA.

Pittsburgh also lost a couple of other players to the transfer portal this offseason and had a big recruiting miss in five-star center prospect Efton Reid. However, the coaching staff was able to land five newcomers via the transfer and JUCO portal to bolster the roster.

With so much production gone, what will be the rotation for the Panthers this season? And are they destined for another bottom-tier finish in the ACC? Here’s a preview for the team, including a roster inspection, schedule breakout, and overall outlook in 2022.