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

Femi Odukale and John Hugley benefits most from Horton’s return

It’s obvious that a rotation player coming back would be helpful for everyone but in this situation, Pittsburgh’s two best players genuinely will have a positive impact that could unlock what they can do as well.

John Hugley leads the team with 14.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg on the season and has been the team’s best player overall. His scoring production has been good even though he’s been facing lots of double teams throughout games. That happens to a lot of bigs but what has hurt the team is when Hugley passes the ball out, it gets stuck because the guard that gets it is unwilling to shoot it.

With Horton now on the court, he can rotate to either the same side as Hugley for an easy kick out for a three or on the opposite side where he can get open after either a court pass from the big man or multiple passes from the guards on the perimeter. The Panthers can finally make teams pay for doubling Hugley inside, which could cause opponents to reconsider. That in itself would greatly boost the big man.

As for Odukale, he’s been in a tough position as a scoring guard that is reluctant to shoot. His preference is to drive to the basket to either score with a layup or draw fouls. But the problem is that with no true threats to shoot from deep, opposing teams can crowd the paint to make it as hard for Odukale as possible.

Now, Horton being on the court forces a defender not to leave him, automatically creating room for the sophomore guard to operate in the paint and make decisions. The same goes for Jamarius Burton, who loves to be inside the arc and wreaking havoc whenever he has room. Even without doing anything, Horton’s presence on the court opens things up for everyone else.