Pittsburgh Basketball: How Jorge Diaz-Graham injury affects foreign trip roster
It’s another offseason injury for Pittsburgh Basketball, as forward Jorge Diaz Graham is set to miss the next month, including the team’s upcoming trip to Spain.
The injury bug has been an issue for Pittsburgh Basketball in the past couple of years, unable to even may it to opening day. Unfortunately for the team, it’s occurred again, as reportedly, Jorge Diaz-Graham has suffered a foot injury to the point where he’s out for the next six weeks.
That’s what Coach Jeff Capel said on a radio show but he’s optimistic that it won’t be a similar situation as to what happened with William Jeffress, who ended up missing all of last season with a foot injury. The one piece of optimism here is that there’s plenty of time for Diaz-Graham to fully recover in time for the 2023-24 season.
However, he certainly won’t be healthy in time for the team’s foreign exhibition tour in Spain, playing a pair of games from August 5-14th. That’s the first look we’ll get at this roster, which not only features six newcomers but also the debut of Dior Johnson, who missed all of last season.
Because it’s not official games, expect all 11 healthy Panther players to play in these games. But more minutes are available in the frontcourt with Jorge gone. His brother, Guillermo Diaz-Graham, is primed to be the first big man off the bench but can now play at both the center and power forward positions to backup Blake Hinson. That’s good news for Papa Kante, the top-100 freshman center that can get minutes as well behind Federiko Federiko.
It’ll also be interesting to see how Jeffress plays in his first game back. The 6’7 combo forward is likely to back up High Point transfer Zach Austin at the three-spot but is capable of playing at the four as well. He’s battling for a spot in the rotation and this is a good opportunity for him to show an improved offensive game.
Next. Where Pitt ranks among top incoming freshmen classes. dark
We’re a couple of weeks away from Pittsburgh’s exhibition tour and they’re now down one player. But there are still plenty of storylines to watch for among those who will play, including all of the newcomers and those who didn’t play last season.