Pittsburgh Basketball: Panthers add much needed shooting with Greg Elliott
It may not come off as a big commitment for Pittsburgh Basketball but the addition of Marquette transfer Greg Elliott, a veteran sharpshooter, will be key.
Pittsburgh Basketball had a tough past season, finishing with just 11 wins overall. The biggest problems came on the offensive end, especially early on when injuries ravaged the backcourt. At one point, the Panthers ranked close to the bottom in both free throw and three-point shooting.
The team did improve its percentages as the season went on but still finished in the bottom-30 nationally in both attempts and makes from deep. And that was a concern in the roster this offseason after losing Ithiel Horton to the transfer portal, the team’s lone above-average shooter from deep.
Pittsburgh has been able to land a few newcomers this offseason that have potential offensively in Colgate transfer Nelly Cummings (36% 3PT) and combo forward Blake Hinson (33%). Returning guards Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande both are around 32% in their careers from three-point range but neither take many shots from deep and that’s not their respective games.
The Panthers, who have multiple spots left on the roster still needed to add some shooting for next season and did so in an under-the-radar pickup in Greg Elliott, a four-year rotation player at Marquette.
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The 6’3 guard from Detroit, Michigan has played a career 114 games in four seasons, 18 of them as a starter. Elliott has a career average of 5.6 ppg, coming off a career-high 7.0 ppg this past year in 17 mpg. He shot 39% from deep, which actually was worse than his past two years compared to his 42 and 46% shooting performance.
Elliott is a solid defender and low-usage player whose shooting ability makes him an asset for the Panthers off the bench. Last season, Pittsburgh’s bench included a former walk-on in Onyebuchi Ezeakudo, William Jeffress (19% 3Pt), and forward Noah Collier. If the former Marquette guard becomes the team’s 6th man, that in itself is a massive upgrade for the Panthers.
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While Pittsburgh hasn’t been able to add stars from the transfer portal this offseason, the pieces they have been adding have been needed fits to balance out the roster. Cummings is the point guard, Hinson is a versatile forward that can create his own offense, and now Elliott is the shooter off the bench that spaces the offense and is another veteran. It may not seem like a big deal but the Panthers got better with the addition of this sharpshooter.