Welcome to the Pitt mailbag. If you have any questions about the Panthers, send them to Christopher Carter and Stephen Thompson, and they may answer them in their weekly show. You can catch the full version on YouTube, with an edited transcript below:
Cameron: How worried should we be about Pitt’s two-game losing streak? Is it a sign of a downturn or just a bump in the road?
Christopher Carter: We talked about this in our postgame wrap-up of the Duke game, but Pitt was up against it going into Durham. That's a tough place for anybody to go win. But winning at home against Louisville, I do think that was a potential marker game because Louisville is going to be one of those teams vying for a few at-large bids to the NCAA tournament from the ACC. So those are games I do think Pitt needs to win. I don't know if it's a sign of a downturn, but it certainly needs to be no more than a bump in the road if this team wants to be a tournament team at the end of the year.
Stephen Thompson: I'd say that Louisville game definitely represents more of a missed opportunity than necessarily the start of a downturn in my mind. That could change if they lose to Florida State on Wednesday night, but for right now, I don't think there's any reason to hit the panic button. That Duke loss seemed preordained. I'd be pretty stunned if Duke loses any games in ACC play the rest of the way. So that one doesn't concern me as much, but the Louisville one does, and the only reason I don't think that you need to panic about it, though, is because the mistakes were correctable. Everything that went wrong for Pitt was within their grasp. Those offensive rebounds that they gave up, a lot of that's just effort. They didn't get outcoached or outschemed by Louisville. That's just focus and discipline and pursuing the ball on every play.
So it was a missed opportunity, but it's not something Pitt can't recover from. Their resume still looks fine. The thing is you can't afford many losses like this — a .500 record in ACC play isn't going to get it done this year. So you've got to capitalize on the easier opportunities, and that starts with beating a pretty quality Florida State team on Wednesday.
Franklin: Why did Jeff Capel play the same five guys for the final 17 minutes and change against Louisville when rebounding was such a big problem?
Thompson: It was simply that he didn't have a ton of confidence in the bench's ability to be game changers and provide the energy the team really needed. Capel said that going into practice this week, there'll be opportunities for guys who are willing to defend and rebound and know what the game plan is on offense and defense. So, reading between the lines a little bit, it sounds like the preparation for the Louisville game wasn't great.
But on the other hand, I thought it really did cost them for Capel to have to shorten the bench because, as we talked about, effort and focus and pursuing those offensive rebounds were so important. You would have to assume that some fresher legs would’ve helped, especially with Guillermo Diaz Graham, Jorge Diaz Graham, Amsal Delalic and Papa Kante all playing only sparingly and they each have some size and ability to rebound to varying degrees. But Capel just clearly, I guess, wasn't getting what he wanted out of that bench and thought he had to roll with his starters. In my opinion, it did end up costing them down the stretch of that loss to Louisville.
Carter: Which is uncharacteristic of this Pitt team. What's won them so many games is their bench — Kante coming off the bench against Ohio State, Zack Austin as the sixth man, Jorge Diaz Graham coming off and hitting 3-pointers, Brandin Cummings coming off the bench for 30 points. They've had so many great bench performances. That's what catches me off guard about there being no substitutions, especially now that Damian Dunn's healthy.
Kevin: What’s going on with Ishmael Leggett? Had a rough week scoring. What can Pitt do to get him back on track?
Thompson: Against Duke, the issues were pretty obvious. Everyone struggled to shoot the ball in that game, and Duke's length and their outstanding defense were as good as advertised. It was really good at holding Leggett in check, and it was just harder for him to use his strength to make some of those tough shots that we've seen him make pretty regularly.
But I think also he's maybe not making some great decisions. Capel told us Monday he thinks Leggett is maybe forcing a few shots, so I give him credit. He did have four assists against Louisville, and that tied a season high. But especially against Duke and at times against Louisville, there were opportunities for him to kick the ball out and find a different shooter or get someone else involved that he wasn't taking. So if he's able to be more of a playmaker, it'll help him out a lot by opening up the lane. Also getting Dunn back, another guy who can handle the ball and score, that should help a lot, too. Ultimately, though, I don't know if there's anything Pitt can necessarily do to get him back on track. A lot of it falls on Leggett and the decisions he's making.
Carter: Yeah, I think Leggett just needs to kind of settle down in some games. And look, Pitt's been a very guard-heavy team. That's what wins them a lot of their games — Leggett and Jaland Lowe taking over, hitting shots, driving to the basket, creating for others. Those are things you want. But when you attack and when you're aggressive, some days you're going to do it the wrong way.
I think Leggett will figure it out. He’s been a good veteran for Pitt. It’s also only two games here. Let's see how he rebounds throughout the rest of the year. This is the guy who was an ACC Sixth Man of the Year and he's been very good for Pitt this year. I wouldn't put too much on it. I think getting him back on track might just be a him thing, like you said.
Ray: Now that Damian Dunn is back healthy, should he return to the starting lineup? And could you see Guillermo Diaz Graham going to the bench while Zack Austin stays in the starting lineup?
Carter: Guillermo Diaz Graham, of course, was struggling shooting from the field, but in the past few games, he has really picked up his shooting. You want size, you want length, and that's what Diaz Graham gives you at 7-foot-1. But Austin's a heck of an athlete, too. It's tough to take him off the floor when he’s playing as well as he is right now. Now Dunn is back and picking up right where he left off. So is this a move that you could see being a legitimate move by Capel?
Thompson: It's definitely a move I could see Capel making. It's maybe even the one that I would make. The length is really important, and having two guys who are 6-foot-10 or taller in the starting lineup has been a big part of why Pitt's been able to play some decent defense and — up until that Louisville game — be a pretty good rebounding team. The thing is Dunn had eight rebounds on Saturday afternoon. If he's able to defend and rebound like we know he can, I think it would behoove Capel to put his three best guards on the floor at the same time and just let them have as much time together on the floor to create offense. Then you can bring in some reinforcements in terms of size whenever you need that.
To a certain extent, less is more for Diaz Graham, as well. I don't think you can take Austin out of the lineup. I think he's too important defensively and he's shooting the ball so well. I think Diaz Graham is the one whose minutes would maybe have to be cut back a little bit in order to make some room for Dunn. It's also possible Capel just goes with what was really comfortable at the beginning of the year, and that was Dunn in the starting lineup with Diaz Graham, Cameron Corhen, Lowe and Leggett. Then you bring Austin off the bench because he's able to fit in a bunch of different roles for you.
Carter: You need to figure out your pace here. Capel’s made it clear just his starters aren’t necessarily who are going to play the most minutes. It's just how he rolls things. At the beginning of the season, they were bringing Austin off the bench and then he was playing just as many minutes as the starters. I think what's really going to happen is you're going to see Dunn and Austin on the floor more than Diaz Graham because of their versatility.
First Published: January 14, 2025, 5:29 p.m.