In a critical ACC contest against North Carolina at Petersen Events Center on Tuesday, Jeff Capel leaned on a short, almost non-existent bench. Of the 200 minutes to fill over two halves of basketball, Capel let his starters play 178 of them. His top six played 196 minutes.
It’s become a growing trend for the increasingly top-heavy Panthers, whose season-long motto of “leave no doubt” hit a roadblock in mid-January when they lost four in a row to ACC opponents. And to reclaim the momentum of their hot start to the season, Capel has shrunk his rotations.
As the Panthers’ backs were pushed up against a wall because of the losing streak, a bench unit that had been a major asset during non-conference play and the beginning of the ACC schedule has now been sidelined for three main reasons — health, matchups and urgency.
Health
The Panthers didn’t have many options once Damian Dunn missed six weeks with a thumb injury and Ishmael Leggett missed a game against Cal with an ankle injury. That was when, above any other reserve, freshman guard Brandin Cummings had an opportunity to shine.
While Dunn was out, Cummings averaged 19 minutes and 10.3 points per game on astounding 71.9% true shooting while turning the ball over twice in eight games. In a game against Cal, when Leggett was also sidelined with a minor ankle injury, Cummings logged 15 points, four rebounds and three assists to just one turnover while making 56% of his shots.
And now that both of them are healthy and back in the lineup, there are far fewer minutes to spare at the guard spot in particular, but at other positions, too. Dunn’s return to a full workload in the past three weeks is the biggest reason players like Cummings, Amsal Delalic and even, to a lesser extent, Jorge Diaz Graham have been crowded out.
Four of Pitt’s six most frequently used lineups over the last five games have utilized three guards — Jaland Lowe, Dunn and Leggett — together. And the most-frequently used (37.7% of total minutes) five-man combination has featured Zack Austin and Cam Corhen with those three guards.
And when Corhen isn’t on the floor, Guillermo Diaz Graham is his usual replacement, or the two play together. Two-thirds of Pitt’s total minutes have been played with at least one of its two leading big men on the floor.
It’s hard to argue against Capel sticking with his top six, especially because the bench hasn’t given him much reason to believe they’ll help win games as of late.
Matchups
Capel has had to mix and match his lineups to fit the needs of specific games. Against Stanford and their star center Maxime Raynaud, he needed some size, so Jorge Diaz Graham got 15 minutes, during which he blocked a shot and grabbed three rebounds.
Against Duke, he needed shot-makers, so Brandin Cummings logged 15 minutes and scored six quick points to give the Panthers a spark.
Florida State featured wave upon wave of tall, long athletes, and that compelled Capel to turn to Jorge Diaz Graham and Papa Kante for 28 combined minutes.
Not all of these adjustments or lineup decisions necessarily worked, and, in fact, two of these three examples ended in losses. And from Jan. 1 to 18, when the bench was averaging 39.7 minutes per contest, the Panthers went 2-4. Capel can push all the buttons he wants, but if the bench players aren’t adding something that the starters can’t, he can’t afford to play them.
“If you’re a guy who can make a shot and you’ve got a wide open shot, you’ve got to take the shot. You can’t force a shot,” Capel said. “You have to know what you’re doing defensively. If we’re in a coverage, you have to know the coverage if you’re supposed to be helped.”
Lowe and Leggett are the team leaders in scoring and assists. Corhen and Guillermo Diaz Graham are the team’s most complete rebounders in terms of both raw totals and rebound rate. Austin and Dunn each shoot 40% or better from 3-point range while also adding versatility on defense.
It may sound rudimentary, but there is a reason why the reserves are the reserves. Pitt was in dire straits just a week ago, and there was little margin for error.
“You can’t be a guy that they just try to pick on,” Capel said. “You’ve got to be able to stand up.”
Urgency
Pitt’s schedule got serious fast. The ACC slate began with games against Virginia Tech, California and Stanford — only one of which has a winning record in conference play. Then came a run of four games that included Duke, Louisville and Clemson, which own the three best conference records in the ACC.
During their four-game losing streak, Pitt’s bench accounted for 40 minutes or more in three of those games, the lone exception being Clemson (34 minutes). While winning two in a row against Syracuse and North Carolina, the bench played just 60 minutes for the week.
“It’s the feel of the game,” Capel said. “The previous three games, we didn’t win them. We look to do something different if we’re not winning.”
For Capel, sometimes it is as simple as not trying to fix something that isn’t broken. Beyond his top six of Lowe, Leggett, Corhen, Austin, Dunn and Guillermo Diaz Graham, who all average north of 22 minutes per game, four players are seeing five or more minutes per appearance, and those minutes haven’t exactly been productive.
Going into Saturday’s game at Wake Forest, Jorge Diaz Graham (6.6 minutes per game for the season) and Papa Kante (7.2 minutes) posted a plus/minus rating of minus-2 in the eight games since New Year’s Day. Brandin Cummings (14.9 minutes) is a minus-37 over that same span. Only Amsal Delalic (14.5 minutes), who hasn’t played in five of those games since the new year began, has a positive rating at plus-5.
And now the pressure is on as the calendar turns to February. Pitt is by no means a lock for the NCAA tournament and needs to build back its resume to solidify an at-large bid. To that end, minutes for the bench won’t come for free.
“We have confidence in the guys on the bench,” Capel said. “But when you get minutes, you have to produce. ... When you do that, you earn more minutes.”
First Published: February 1, 2025, 3:16 p.m.
Updated: February 1, 2025, 6:57 p.m.
