Pittsburgh Basketball: 5 key storylines heading into 2022 offseason
Way-too-early look at Pittsburgh’s spot in the ACC
If I had to provide an early power ranking of the ACC, here’s how I would place everyone:
1. Duke
2. UNC
3. FSU
4. UVA
5. Virginia Tech
6. Notre Dame
7. Syracuse
8. Clemson
9. Miami
10. Wake Forest
11. Louisville
12. Boston College
13. Pittsburgh
14. NC State
15. Georgia Tech
Returning an All-ACC caliber player in John Hugley is good enough to have the Panthers in the mix for next season but considering that they only have six scholarship players, I would have to have them in the bottom tier. However, 5-15 is not that far away from one another.
Teams like Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and NC State all have several players with NBA Draft decisions and if they go the other way, Pittsburgh can automatically slide. Louisville has a new head coach, and Syracuse won’t have either of Coach Boeheim’s sons playing, although they do have former Pitt commit Judah Mintz on board.
The ACC will be adding new players along with Pittsburgh in the coming weeks but right now, the Panthers aren’t far away from contending for a top-10 spot if they can add a few more impact pieces. And look at the Demon Deacons, who landed transfer Alondes Williams late in May and ended up in the top-tier of the league this past season.
Next. Way-too-early power rankings for 2022-23 season. dark
Of course, making the NCAA Tournament is likely the only way Coach Capel avoids the ire of fans. He lost a lot of pieces but kept the most important one in Hugley and now has landed Cummings in the backcourt. There’s a lot left in the offseason for the program but they need to continue making moves to compete next season.