Pittsburgh Basketball: Impact of Ithiel Horton rejoining Panthers for 2021-22

Horton adds to Pittsburgh’s non-existent three-point shooting

Even when at full strength, three-point shooting was a major question mark for the Panthers coming into the season. But once Horton was out of the picture, that weakness turned into a complete fatal flaw. He averaged a team-leading 37% from three-point range last season and was the only player to make more than 25 shots from deep for the team.

Through 13 games, Pittsburgh ranks in the bottom-10 in the country in both attempts and makes from three-point range, around 4/15 per average. That’s around 30% overall, good for 313th nationally. None of the players on the roster are in double figures of made three-pointers, with walk-on guard Onyebuchi Ezeakudo the best overall at 8/14 shots total.

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Pittsburgh’s inability to shoot from deep has had a crippling effect on its roster, ranking last in the ACC and bottom-20 in the country at 61.2 ppg. The team does play at a slow pace but a lack of shot creators also hurts. Horton’s 8.7 ppg average doesn’t seem like much but it means the world to a team that desperately needs offense.

Horton being around on the perimeter opens up a ton more options, including simply providing the Panthers an extra scholarship perimeter player. Considering how many close calls they’ve had without any three-point production, imagine what a few threes from Horton can do late in a game?