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

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 9, 2021; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Femi Odukale (2) against the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the 2021 ACC Men's basketball tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2021; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Femi Odukale (2) against the Miami Hurricanes in the first round of the 2021 ACC Men's basketball tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports /
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John Hugley
Pittsburgh Basketball John Hugley Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports /

3 key storylines to watch for Pittsburgh Basketball

1. Breakout campaigns

All eyes will be on Femi Odukale, as well as big man John Hugley for Pittsburgh. Not only are they potentially the best players on the roster but are underclassmen as well. After losing three star players, the program is effectively rebuilding again. However, these two players breaking out on the national scene combined with adding top-100 class of 2022 commit Judah Mintz could easily accelerate the process.

2. An actual frontcourt

With all due respect to last year’s starters, Coulibaly and Brown, Pittsburgh’s frontcourt play has been a struggle in the past five years. That’s why there’s so much excitement for Hugley and Gueye to come in and have an impact. There will be actual post plays being made on offense and teams won’t easily score inside on Pittsburgh. Gueye has a chance to be one of the biggest ACC impact transfers this offseason.

3. A brand new culture

It can be considered “coach speak” or preseason talk from the players but one consistent theme from Pittsburgh Basketball in the past month has been about the improved culture and lockerroom this team has compared to last season. Burton has been credited with being a great presence early on and this team is much older than in the past. Bad losses and lackadaisical play can be attributed to poor leadership and chemistry and if that area has improved, it’ll impact the win/loss record in a good way.

3 key questions about Pittsburgh Basketball

1. Can this team shoot?

On paper, there aren’t many quality three-point shooters on the roster. Guys like Sibande, Burton, and Odukale don’t shoot a ton and are average overall, while Horton is very streaky overall. Gueye has potential to shoot it as a forward but isn’t a volume guy either. Santos may be the best shooter on the team but will he get minutes to prove it?

2. Will Pitt make any free throws?

Because there wasn’t a lot of frontcourt play and pure shooter, a lot of Pittsburgh’s offense involved a lot of driving to the basket and getting foul calls. They were No. 1 in the ACC in getting to the line but they also ranked next to last in percentage (69%). So outside of getting a couple of guys in foul trouble, they were sometimes wasted trips. And it may not be much better this time around. Odukale shot a woeful 50% from the field as a guard Sibande was 57%, while Oladapo was 52% at Oakland. That needs to improve to have any hope of winning close games.

3. How good can Pitt be defensively?

While I have my concerns about the Panthers on offense, I’m bullish on what they can do on defense. Assuming they’re healthy, everyone in the rotation will be at least 6’4, and having someone like Gueye around boosts the entire defense on the floor. The size, athleticism, and overall effort, and toughness could make this team very tough to score on, meaning that we could see a fair amount of low-scoring games this season.

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