Pittsburgh Basketball: William Jeffress injury creates chance for underclassmen

The injuries continue for Pittsburgh Basketball, this time to junior forward William Jeffress. How does this impact the overall roster?

There have been a ton of offseason moves involving Pittsburgh Basketball, with eight newcomers and eight departures. There already was one who left a couple of weeks ago in Cashius McNeilly, a former JUCO commit that opted to part ways with the program. But one of the few returning players that stayed was William Jeffress, a former four-star prospect who a couple of years ago reclassified and became the youngest player in D-I hoops.

Last season, the 6’7 forward ended up with a much larger role than expected due to injuries to both Jamarius Burton and Nike Sibande (for the season), as well as Ithiel Horton getting suspended. Jeffress was getting around 30 mpg in the first few games but offensively struggled mightily. His confidence was shot and his scoring numbers were bad, averaging 3.4 ppg and 3.3 rpg on 30% shooting from the field.

But on a positive note, Jeffress was an above-average defender and rebounder and his versatility and athleticism allowed him to play and guard several positions. And while some Pitt fans may not have cared that he stayed, the forward, in a different role, is someone who this roster could use for the upcoming season. However, there’s been a little setback.

The first reaction to this is the timing. The 2022-23 season starts on November 7th, making it around eight weeks from now to then. So assuming that Jeffress injury heals by then, he should be fine for opening day. But this is still a rough time for a player fighting for a rotation spot on what should be an improved roster and now, is likely going to miss both preseason exhibition games for the program in late October and early November.

Also, Jeffress isn’t the only Panther not cleared to play. Nike Sibande, who missed all of last season with an injury, still isn’t fully ready. And transfer Blake Hinson, who also has dealt with injuries in the past as well, although he’s on track to play without issue.. All three should be good to go by opening night but it won’t be a surprise if all three miss the preseason games.

There are three guys that instantly can benefit in the next month. Two are the freshmen twin bigs, Jorge and Guillermo Díaz Graham. Both can play the four and five-spots for Pittsburgh and that position is fairly wide open for the taking. That’s the spot where Jeffress likely would play most of his minutes besides wing.

There’s also another returning wing in sharpshooter Nate Santos, who may be the best pure three-point shooter on the team. With Jeffress and Sibande out for now, the team could use a 6’6 wing that can shoot to provide size in the lineups. Look for these three to get extended minutes in those exhibition games and if any can impress, could sneak into the rotation for the season-opener against UT-Martin.

Williams Jeffress may not seem like a big loss but his absence will affect Pittsburgh’s plans for the next month and his own development process. But for the first time since the Jeff Capel era began with the Panthers, there’s enough depth to handle a loss, and assuming he’s back by November should have an impact this season on the court.