Pittsburgh Basketball: Projected minutes and rotation with Dior Johnson on board

After winning just 11 games this past and another bottom-tier ACC finish this past season, Pittsburgh Basketball head coach Jeff Capel was on the hottest of seats. He got a vote of confidence from the AD and is back for another year but was under clear pressure to rebuild a roster that lost eight players to either the transfer portal or a lack of eligibility.

So for the past 60+ days, the Panthers have slowly but surely filled out the roster, landing eight newcomers, four in the frontcourt and four in the backcourt. Colgate transfer Nelly Cummings was the first big name and filled a big need at the point guard position. It looked like he was locked down as the projected starter for next season, as the team had just one scholarship left to fill.

And for a while, it looked like Weber State transfer Seikou Sisoho Jawara would be that next pickup. However, that seemed to fall through. Instead, it ended up being the biggest name possible at this point in the offseason.

Dior Johnson is a top-50 overall prospect in the 2022 recruiting class but at one time was ranked in the top-10 overall and in the five-star range. He’s had an eventual high school and set of decisions, playing at over eight different high school programs and committing to Syracuse and Oregon before becoming a free agent yet again.

There’s certainly baggage that comes with the final member of the 2022-23 Panthers roster but the projection of the team may now be in the NCAA Tournament range. But how do the rotations and minutes work out for all the newcomers and what should be the right starting lineup on opening day?

Here’s how I would work out the Pittsburgh Basketball roster now that Johnson has joined them.