Basketball at Pittsburgh isn’t exactly in their glory days, though Jeff Capel’s squad has fared somewhat better in recent years. The former Duke guard was hired in 2018 and had four straight seasons under .500 before leading the Panthers to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Panthers won at least 22 games two years in a row but took a step back last season, tying for 9th place in a really down year for the ACC.
Last year’s team had its shortcomings but this next season is going to be even more of a mystery with these offseason departures. Losing sophomore guard Jaland Lowe is the biggest blow after he led the Panthers in scoring and showed signs of brilliance as an underclassman. Fellow starters Zack Austin and Ishamel Leggett were both seniors while a lot of size was lost with the departure of the Diaz Graham twins. The best returning player is forward Cameron Corhen and they’ll need him to step up as a senior.
Reinforcements come in several forms, including a decent crop of freshmen talent and a notable foursome from the transfer portal. Nojus Indrusaitis is a guard from Iowa State who should play decent minutes while Barry Dunning Jr. will hope to pick up some of the scoring slack after a great year out at South Alabama. The new point guard might be Damarco Minor, who had good scoring and assists numbers previously in his career and comes fresh from Oregon State.
It’s a close choice between several of these additions, but 6-11 center Dishon Jackson is our pick for the most important from this class. He’ll enter his final year of eligibility after previous work at Washington State, Charlotte, and Iowa State. Jackson put up great figures with the 49ers two years ago before averaging 8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds per game as the starter for the Cyclones this past season. He made 58% of his field goals and should step into a major role in Pittsburgh.
We’ve mentioned the size and experience lost by these Panthers in the offseason and Jackson helps fill several of those holes. He immediately becomes a major presence in the paint, pairing with Corhen in what could be one of the better frontcourt duos in the ACC. With scoring a certain need, the Panthers get a bit of that from all of these additions, but his size and presence makes him even more important than Dunning or Minor for next year.
The Panthers lost a lot from a team that underwhelmed during a rough year for the ACC. This year’s team will have even more of a challenge to compete in a league that should be somewhat better for 2026. Leaning heavily on these new pieces, Pittsburgh doesn’t just need more scoring and rebounds but they’ll need a veteran presence like Jackson to show up and be a leader for the rest of this team. We’ve given Pittsburgh low expectations and been surprised in the recent past, can that happen again this year?