Pittsburgh Basketball: 3 key storylines heading into exhibition with Clarion
Pittsburgh Basketball takes on local opponent Clarion in an exhibition matchup weeks before the start of the season. What are some key storylines to watch?
As usual, it’s far from quiet for Pittsburgh Basketball in the weeks heading into the start of the 2022-23 season. The big news of the month was the arrest and immediate suspension of Dior Johnson, the high-profile freshman guard for the team from a domestic violence situation.
An update on his legal situation is that there is a felony charge still with Johnson, meaning that he’s indefinitely suspended from team activities. He’s certainly not playing this weekend and could potentially not suit up for the program again.
Focusing on the players on the roster, the Panthers take on Clarion, one of two exhibition opponents before November 7th against Tennessee-Martin when the games officially count. With so many new faces, it’s a good introduction to this team from a competitive standpoint. Here are some storylines to watch for Saturday’s game.
1. Injury updates
The bad news is that it’s highly unlikely that leading scorer John Hugley and forward William Jeffress will play in this game, both dealing with offseason injuries. The good news is that the timetable for these guys to return is before the start of the season, which is the best-case scenario.
While those two are out, two players that have been fully cleared to practice and play are Nike Sibande and Blake Hinson. Sibande missed all of last season after getting injured in an exhibition game a year ago, while Hinson hasn’t played in a game in two whole years due to multiple things. Both are good to go and how they fit into the offense will be something to watch.
2. Nelly Cummings is the lead guard
It was supposed to be Cummings and Johnson sharing the backcourt duties but now, the Colgate transfer is the clear starting point guard and initiator of the offense. He’ll have to be effective as both a scorer and a passer for Pittsburgh to compete this season and if he struggles, that’ll be a bad sign for the team. Jamarius Burton is the backup ball-handler so look for him to have time to run the offense as well.
3. Frontcourt newcomers have a chance to make an impression
The one positive of not having Hugley available is that we see what the other three bigs on the roster can do. Freshmen twins, Jorge and Guillermo Díaz Graham are potential rotational pieces and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Guillermo, the 7’0 center that played on the Spain U19 National Team this Summer, starts in place of Hugley. And with Jeffress out, look for Jorge to get minutes behind Hinson at the four-spot.
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The one player that had a tough path to playing time is JUCO transfer, Fede Federico. The 6’11 center is a true defensive anchor but as the Chris Payton experiment showed, not all JUCO plays are able to crack the rotation. This is an opportunity for Federico to prove that he shouldn’t be flying under the radar on this roster.