The Panthers have picked up where they left off last year, earning three wins in their first three games, all by double-figures. Let’s dive into the Panthers’ highest-rated transfer according to The Portal Report’s ranking system “DUNK.”

Pitt’s Ishmael Leggett Rating Highly Among National Transfers

Through three games, Leggett ranks as the No. 3 transfer in the ACC (behind Matthew Cleveland of Miami and Kevin Miller of Wake Forest). Overall, out of more than 800+ transfers tracked by TPR who have recorded statistics this season, Leggett ranks 31st overall.

Leggett has accumulated 34.9 TPR Fantasy Points, has a game score of 15.2, and is averaging 15.3 points per game for the Panthers. The Rhode Island transfer has also been strong on the glass, and is averaging 7.7 rebounds per game. Along with Panther freshmen Bub Carrington and Jaland Lowe, Leggett is leading the back court for a Panthers team that is looking to make the NCAA Tournament once again.

“Ishmael, I watched him at Rhode Island,” FGCU head coach Pat Chambers said about the Panthers’ guard. “I mean, he’s a dog. That’s the greatest compliment you can give anybody. I mean, he’s a fierce competitor, he knows who he is. So, good team. Really good team.”

For more on the transfer portal, visit ThePortalReport.com and follow us on social media at @theportalreport.

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The Panthers’ head coach has notably excelled in the transfer portal — bringing in stars such as Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, Nike Sibande, Blake Hinson, Ish Leggett, and others over the past three-to-four years alone. However, in my opinion, Capel’s recent high school recruiting efforts deserve more attention than they have gotten.

Pitt’s 2023 recruiting board was once full of prospects from all over the country. Several prospects took official visits to Pitt during the cycle but did not commit. However, throughout the entire 2023 recruiting class’ high-school careers, Capel stayed the course and built steady, strong relationships with his guys. His choices. Although those players weren’t necessarily the highly touted recruits that other ACC programs target, those recruits were Capel’s. They were the guys that he envisioned leading the Pitt program with.

He clearly prioritized Bub Carrington from the start. Having a connection with Carrington’s father, who was a long-time AAU coach running the Baltimore Elite program, set the stage for his recruitment with Bub III at St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. On June 15 heading into his junior season, Carrington was finally allowed to hear from college coaches directly, per NCAA rules. Once the clock struck midnight, Carrington’s phone rang. It was Pitt associate head coach Milan Brown, becoming the first coach to directly contact the rising junior. The Panthers had identified and scouted plenty of guards in the class at that point, but their course of action over the next two years proved that they knew that Carrington was one of their guys.

Capel’s staff again worked hard to recruit Jaland Lowe, a four-star prospect from the Houston, Texas area. Pitt recruiting a basketball player from Texas? Not your usual story. But I remember the first time I interviewed Lowe back when he was a rising senior and had just received his offer from Pitt. He was thrilled, and again, had a direct connection to Capel through his father.

“He called me, I was just chilling,” Lowe told Pittsburgh Sports Now on the night of his offer from Capel. “We talked about how he never expected to see this moment. He used to see me as a kid, when John Lucas and my dad [Marland Lowe]. He never thought he’d be recruiting me one day, so he just told me about that. I remember when he was at Duke and I was in middle school, and he let me visit the place at Duke. Now, he saw me playing AAU. He’s just proud of me. He said he liked the way I play, and he offered me.”

Jeff Capel ‘Never Expected’ to Offer Texas G Jaland Lowe, But Did on Tuesday

With Papa Amadou Kante, Pitt’s four-star forward prospect who is currently sitting out for the year due to a knee injury, Capel, again, stuck with him through his entire high-school career. Pitt was the first program to offer Kante, his prep coach Raphael Chillious told PSN. 

“That’s always something important in the relationship & recruiting process,” Chillious told PSN in 2022.

Marlon Barnes Jr. is the fourth member of the 2023 recruiting class and is currently taking a redshirt year to learn from Pitt’s crowded wing room. He committed to Pitt first out of all of this year’s freshman, pledging his verbal commitment in January of his junior season of high-school ball. Barnes had previously played with former Pitt forward John Hugley at Brush High School in Cleveland and had spent many days at Pitt throughout his prep career, watching practice, getting to know the coaches, and learning about the school.

Now that the Panthers are three games into the 2023-24 season, it’s clear to see that Pitt’s two freshmen guards — Carrington and Lowe — are going to play a major role right away in their first season of college ball. Carrington dropped a triple double in the first game of his career — the first one at Pitt since 1998. Pitt’s starting point guard, the Baltimore native, has had games of 18, 18, and 19 points, respectively, and is averaging seven assists per game as well. He looks like a five-star prospect. He’s already earned ACC Rookie of the Week over five stars from Carolina, Duke, and elsewhere. Lowe dropped a career-best 12 points in a win over Florida Gulf Coast on Monday night, stepping up and hitting five of his nine attempts — including two of his four three-point tries — off the bench. Lowe provided a spark for the Panthers when they desperately needed one and couldn’t quite pull away from the Eagles just yet.

“He’s a good player, man,” Capel said about Lowe. “He is. We were talking about the shots, I thought he made some heck of a passes off the ball screen. That’s what he’s been doing all the time. I thought he was maybe a little bit pressed because he couldn’t make a shot that he got away from it a little bit. I thought today, he was back more of who he has been. This guy that can play-make and can do some different things.”

Capel and his staff’s ability to identify talent has been elite — specifically with finding Carrington and Lowe years ago. His recruitment strategy has been well-detailed, as the recruits and their families seem to build tight relationships throughout the process and continue those once they are on campus. And now, throughout last season and in the first three games of this season, he has found on-court success with his guys.

The post Michalowski: Jeff Capel’s 2023 Recruiting Efforts Deserve More Attention appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

The Panthers looked to Bub Carrington, Blake Hinson, and Ishmael Leggett for production in the win, with Carrington finishing as the scoring leader with 19 points and Hinson also adding 18 points. Leggett posted a 17-point, 7-rebound stat line and in addition, Jaland Lowe contributed 12 points for the Panthers.

Will Jeffress also played 21 minutes in the victory, scoring two points in the win and grabbing five boards.

Hear from Capel, Jeffress, and Leggett following Pitt’s third-straight ‘W.’

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The Panthers looked to stars Bub Carrington, Blake Hinson, and Ishmael Leggett tonight in the win, as Carrington led the way with 19 points and seven assists, Hinson followed with 18 points, and Leggett added 17 and seven rebounds.

After the game, Florida Gulf Coast head coach Pat Chambers, formerly the head coach at Penn State, offered some high praise for Pitt’s leaders.

“Jeff’s got a good team,” Chambers said. “Hinson can really shoot, he hit some timely ones. Even though he was three of ten, hit some timely ones. Carrington, I watched him on film and I knew about him in high school, big-time player, big-time player. We tried a bunch of different coverages on him, he still had 19 and seven. So that’s the difference right there.”

“Ishmael, I watched him at Rhode Island,” Chambers continued. “I mean, he’s a dog. That’s the greatest compliment you can give anybody. I mean, he’s a fierce competitor, he knows who he is. So, good team. Really good team.”

Leggett hit perhaps the biggest shot of the game for the Panthers, driving to the right side as Pitt led by six with three minutes to go. With the shot clock winding down on his drive, he spun around and hit a tough two-pointer in the face of his opponent, extending Pitt’s lead to eight.

In addition to those three players mentioned by Chambers, Pitt also received solid offensive production from Jaland Lowe (12 points) and Zack Austin (7 points). Will Jeffress played 21 minutes off the bench, hitting his lone field-goal try and grabbing five rebounds in a big performance for the Panthers.

“I recruited Will Jeffress,” Chambers said. “He looks terrific. He’s put on some weight, he’s strong. Knows his role. All-star in his role. Did a really nice job. But so did Ishmael. Those guys did a nice job on the perimeter players. Chase Johnston barely had any space, Franco had a big game last game and he was in foul trouble, barely had any space. So their guards did a really good job speeding us up. Good team”

To close out his thoughts on Pitt, Chambers commented on Lowe’s performance. The freshman scored a career-high 12 points on Monday night.

“He was tremendous,” Chambers said about the Houston native. “I think him and Barno, I think probably going into the game they were two non-shooters, I’ll say. And then they both came out on fire. Good for them, they’re putting the work in in the gym, both of them, and it’s good to see. He’s a lefty. He got downhill a couple of times, made some timely layups against us, because you’re so worried about Hinson and Carrington. He’s got great feel for the game to get downhill and get his team a bucket.”

With the loss, FGCU fell to 1-2 on the season with losses to Indiana and Pitt. The Panthers moved on to 3-0 on the season, and will take on Jacksonville on Friday night once again at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.

“I felt like we deserved to be on that floor,” Chambers said. “Our guys really competed. We didn’t hang our heads. We kept going out. They go up ten, they go up 11, we’d come back and get it to single digits. I’m proud of the way we competed.”

The post FGCU Coach Pat Chambers Offers High Praise Towards Pitt Back Court appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

The Panthers struggled from the charity stripe and shot only 56.3%. Pitt missed 14 of its 32 attempts and closed action 18 of 32 at the foul line. 

Federiko Federiko had the worst trouble of any Panther, missing five of his six shot attempts. Blake Hinson missed three free throws, and Zack Austin and Ishmael Leggett were off the mark on two. Neither of Guillermo Diaz Graham’s attempts found the bottom of the net. 

Jeff Capel’s squad felt its most troubling issues in the first half. The Panthers found their way to the line early and often, being in the bonus with just under 10 minutes remaining. Pitt made 14 of 23 attempts (61%) in the first half and only made it back to the line nine times in the second but missed five shots (44%). 

Pitt defeated Florida Gulf Coast 86-74 and entered action 290th in all of college basketball in free-throw percentage (61.4%). 

The post Pitt Once Again Struggles From Free Throw Line in 12-Point Victory appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Both teams started out the game hot, with Rahmir Barno and Blake Hinson trading buckets in the first five minutes. Barno scored eight points in that time frame, while Hinson followed with seven.

Pitt struggled for the next eight minutes, hitting just one of its next seven shots. Freshman guard Jaland Lowe stepped in to give the Panthers a spark, hitting a three and scoring a two-point field goal as well. The Panthers retained the lead all the way until the five-minute mark in the first half, when the pesky Florida Gulf Coast squad tied it up.

Lowe continued his strong half in the final minutes of the frame, hitting another three in addition to a layup capping off a quick drive to his left. Lowe went into the half tied for the team-high in points with ten with Hinson, and the Panthers built up a ten-point lead by the break, 45-35.

In the second half, FGCU hung around early behind big man Andre Weir, who overpowered Federiko Federiko and Pitt’s reserve bigs for some inside buckets early.

Throughout the majority of the half, Lowe continued to put the ball in the basket, while Bub Carrington and Ishmael Leggett both found their game and the Panthers poured it on. Pitt built its lead up to 12 points with 11:30 left in this one, but just could not escape the Eagles down the stretch.

After Weir hit an and-one layup for the Eagles with 4:04 to go, Pitt’s lead had been cut all the way down to five. The Eagles were on a 13-3 run, and the Panthers needed someone to step up late to avoid a massive upset in the third game of the season.

With three minutes to go, Leggett backed down his defender and hit a tough fadeaway floater in his face, extending Pitt’s lead to eight. The next possession, the Panthers earned a steal on defense that led to a wide-open Federiko slam on the other end, bringing the lead back to double digits. With time winding down on the final possession for Pitt, Carrington nailed a logo three pointer to make him the game’s leading scorer.

Carrington finished with 19 points on 5-for-9 shooting (7 for 7 from free-throw line). He also dished out seven assists in the win. Hinson followed Carrington with 18 points of his own, hitting six field goals and three threes. Leggett provided 17 points as well, while Lowe finished with 12.

For FGCU, Weir dominated the inside against Pitt’s bigs and scored 12 points. He also grabbed five rebounds in the contest. Keeshawn Kellman led the team with 14 points and six rebounds in the loss.

Pitt knocked down just 18 of its 32 free-throw tries (56%), continuing its rough patch from the charity stripe.

With the win, Pitt advances to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 2018-19, when the Panthers started off with a 6-0 record. Florida Gulf Coast falls to 1-2 with the loss.

Pitt now moves on to play against Jacksonville on Friday, November 17 at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center. Following that game, the Panthers will travel to Brooklyn, New York for the Preseason NIT event. Its first game comes against the Florida Gators on Wednesday, Nov. 22 at 9:30 p.m., followed by a matchup against either Baylor or Oregon State on Friday, Nov. 24.

The post Pitt Fights Off Florida Gulf Coast to Earn Third Win, 86-74 appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Pitt pulled off back-to-back alley-oop dunks against FGCU to open the second half and ignite the Petersen Events Center out of the locker room.

Double Dunks

: @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/FdtAZFs2tg

— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) November 14, 2023

Ishmael Leggett was on the distributing end of both jams. Leggett found a cutting Federiko Federiko for the first slam, followed by a lob to Zack Austin on the block.

This type of communication is nothing new for the Panthers this season, as lobs to the basket have been frequent throughout the first three games. Both new to the program, Leggett has provided stability on both ends of the floor, while Austin is a considerable lob threat and reliable defender.

The post WATCH: Pitt Slams Home Two Lobs Against ‘Dunk City’ appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Carrington exploded onto the college basketball scene in Pitt’s season opener, dropping the first triple double for Pitt since 1998. He became just the second player in ACC history to drop a triple double in his first game. In that win over NC A&T, Carrington finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and ten assists, earning the prestigious triple double on his assist to Guillermo Diaz-Graham for a three.

Bub Carrington has been named ACC Rookie of the Week.

Carrington in his first week of college basketball:
– First triple-double by a Pitt player since 1998
– Averaged 18 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7 assists per game
– 13-23 shooting (57%)
– 7-13 from three-point range (54%) pic.twitter.com/P2nnUvYTxj

— George Michalowski (@MichalowskiCBB) November 13, 2023

Carrington followed up his stellar performance with another strong game in Pitt’s second win of the season. The Panthers cruised by Binghamton in another home victory, as Carrington went for 18 points, three rebounds, and four assists.

Through two games, he is shooting 57% from the field and 54% from three-point range for the Panthers. The rookie is a 6-foot-5 guard out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, where he cemented himself as a four-star prospect.

Carrington and the Panthers will host Florida Gulf Coast on Monday night at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, PA. That game will be televised on ACC Network Extra. Check out our full game preview below for more on the matchup against the Eagles.

Pitt-Florida Gulf Coast Preview: Panthers Looking to Start 3-0

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As Katz released this season’s first edition of his “Power 36” power rankings, he included the Panthers at No. 36, earning the final spot.

NEW #Power36 from @TheAndyKatz!

1. Tennessee
2. Arizona
3. Purdue
4. Kansas
5. UConn
6. Marquette
7. Creighton
8. Miami
9. Baylor
10. Duke
11-36 https://t.co/jrl49GYTDo pic.twitter.com/dUV5ehCXQt

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) November 13, 2023

“Carlton Carrington had a triple-double in his Pitt debut and the Panthers haven’t missed a step after a two-win NCAA tournament run last March,” Katz said.

Pitt is ranked behind five other ACC teams in the Power 36: Miami (No. 8), Duke (No. 10), Clemson (No. 18), Virginia (No. 26), and North Carolina (No. 28).

Katz was also high on the Panthers last year, ranking them in the top-30 in January and naming Jamarius Burton the March Madness Player of the Week for his 31-point effort in a win over North Carolina.

National Analyst Andy Katz Ranks Pitt in Top-30, Names Burton P.O.T.W

The Panthers are currently 2-0 after taking down North Carolina A&T and Binghamton in their first two games. Blake Hinson is currently averaging a team-high 19.5 points er game, while Federiko Federiko is leading the Panthers with 9.5 rebounds per game and Carrington is averaging a Pitt-high seven assists per contest.

Pitt takes on Florida Gulf Coast on Monday night at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center.

The post Pitt Makes Andy Katz’ National Power 36 Rankings appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

The Panthers will be taking on Florida Gulf Coast at the Petersen Events Center. Check out the information below to prepare for the 7 p.m. contest!

PITT’S OUTLOOK

Bub Carrington continues to be the story of the early season slate for the Panthers, as he turned in another strong performance in Pitt’s win over Binghamton on Friday night. Carrington is averaging 18 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists per game through two matchups.

Blake Hinson exploded for 26 points (8-for-14 shooting) in game two of the year, hitting four of his nine three-point attempts. Lastly, Ishmael Leggett turned in another steady performance for the Panthers, dropping 18 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists in the win over the Bearcats on Friday.

FLORIDA GULF COAST EAGLES

HEAD COACH

Pat Chambers (2nd Season)

Chambers enters year two in Fort Meyers after going 17-15 (7-11 ASUN) in year No. 1. This year, the Eagles are 1-1 with a win over Ave Maria and a close loss at Indiana (69-63).

BEST PLAYERS

#10 Zach Anderson – 6’7 Forward – 14.5 PPG

#32 Keeshawn Kellman – 6’8 Forward – 10 PPG

#23 Dallion Johnson – 6’3 Guard – 10 PPG (17 against Indiana on 5 for 11 from three-point range).

LAST YEAR

FGCU started last season 10-3 with a win over USC and things were looking great in Fort Meyers. However, from January 12 to February 4, the Eagles lost 7 of 8. FGCU then lost in the First Round of the ASUN Tournament to Queens (NC).

You may remember Florida Gulf Coast from its “Dunk City” days back in 2013. The Eagles soared through the air to the Sweet 16, gaining national attention as one of the most electric cinderella teams in recent memory.

METRICS

According to Kenpom.com, Florida Gulf Coast is ranked as the No. 132 team in division one, making it by far the best opponent that Pitt has faced so far this season. Pitt is currently ranked as the No. 48 team in Kenpom’s rankings.

GAME TIME

The game will tip off at 7 p.m. at the Petersen Events Center on Monday, Nov. 13.

SPREAD

Pitt is a 10.5-point favorite according to DraftKings Sportsbook (Sunday night). The over/under is currently hovering around 144.5 total points. Pitt is 2-0 against the spread to begin the season, covering in both wins.

TV

You can find Monday’s game on ACC Network Extra. Wes Durham and Dan Bonner will be on the call, per Pitt’s game notes.

RADIO

The game will be live on 93.7 The Fan as well.

The post Pitt-Florida Gulf Coast Preview: Panthers Looking to Start 3-0 appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Both the Panthers and the Dukes are 2-0 to start this season, and each of those wins have come handily aside from a close win for the Dukes over Cleveland State.

Duquesne took down College of Charleston in the Veterans Classic on Friday night by a score of 90-72. Strong performances from Kareem Rozier, Dae Dae Grant, and Jimmy Clark III propelled the Dukes to the victory.

Pitt is off to a dominant start. Although the Panthers have not played the toughest of competition so far, the widely-trusted Kenpom.com metrics seem to appreciate that Pitt has thumped both of its opponents so far.

Kenpom.com Ratings

Pitt: No. 49 overall, No. 6 in ACC.

Pitt ranks in the top 60 of all division one teams in both adjusted offensive efficiency and adjusted defensive efficiency. Pitt’s strength of schedule so far is ranked at No. 335.

Duquesne: No. 77 overall, No. 2 in Atlantic 10.

Duquesne ranks in the top-75 in adjusted offensive efficiency while the Dukes rank No. 96 in adjusted defensive efficiency. Duquesne’s strength of schedule so far is ranked at No. 184.

The post Pitt and Duquesne MBB Both Rising in Respected Kenpom.com Rankings appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Pitt and Duquesne’s men’s basketball teams both have multiple home games, while Robert Morris’ men’s team is on the road all week. To cap off a busy slate, we’ve got the Women’s Basketball City Game on Saturday at Duquesne as well.

Let’s take a look at the full schedule for this week of Pittsburgh basketball home games.

Duquesne MBB: 

Monday: Duquesne Vs. Stony Brook – 7 p.m.

Wednesday: Duquesne Vs. Princeton – 7 p.m.

Friday: Duquesne Vs. Rider – 7 p.m.

Duquesne Basketball Runs on Rozier: ‘His Leadership Ability is Second-to-None’

Pitt MBB: 

Monday: Pitt Vs. Florida Gulf Coast – 7 p.m.

Friday: Pitt Vs. Jacksonville – 7 p.m.

Duquesne WBB:

Saturday: Duquesne Vs. Pitt WBB – 2 p.m.

Pitt WBB:

Saturday: Pitt @ Duquesne WBB – 2 p.m.

RMU WBB

Wednesday: RMU Vs. Akron WBB – 11 a.m.

RECORD UPDATES

Pitt MBB: 2-0

Duquesne MBB: 2-0

Duquesne WBB: 2-0

Pitt WBB: 1-1

RMU MBB: 1-1

RMU WBB: 1-1

Stay tuned on Pittsburgh Sports Now for coverage of all of the city’s college basketball action throughout the week and beyond. For more information on tickets and full schedules for each of the teams, click here for Duquesne MBB, here for Duquesne WBB, here for Pitt MBB, here for Pitt WBB, and here for Robert Morris WBB.

The post Big Week of College Basketball Ahead in the Steel City appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Leggett scored 18 points, shooting 6-for-14 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the foul line, while grabbing 11 rebounds for his first double-double with the Panthers. He also led the Panthers with five assists and four steals, and tied a team-high with junior center Federiko Federiko in offensive rebounds with four

This is Leggett’s first season with Pitt basketball, as he transferred from Rhode Island after last season. He led URI with 34.5 minutes and 16.4 points per game, respectively, as well as 48 3-pointers made, while also second best with 5.8 rebounds per game and 73 total assists.

Rhode Island did not have a good 2022-23 season, as they finished 9-22 overall and 5-13 in the Atlantic-10, second worst in the conference.

Coming to Pitt, Leggett now plays with a core group of players who made the NCAA Tournament last season. This includes senior forward Blake Hinson, sophomore forwards and twins Jorge and Guillermo Diaz Graham and junior center Federiko Federiko. It also helps to play with talented freshman guards like Carlton Carrington, who had a triple-double in his debut on Monday against North Carolina A&T, as well as Jaland Lowe.

“Still instincts, but it makes it 10 times easier when everyone around you is as good as you,” Leggett said on how he’s playing this season compared to last. “I feel like it takes a lot of pressure off of my performance and I just get out there and I go play. Credit to the guys around me, they make it a lot easier.”

Leggett had three double-doubles last season with points and rebounds. He complimented his front court players for their work on the boards, which he credits to allowing him to rack up rebounds on the stat sheet, along with his good positioning.

“Just being down there,” Leggett said. “The big guys, they do a good job of boxing everybody out, so I think as a guard, it just bounces right there and I grab it. The big guys do a really good job and I just clean it up pretty much.”

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel complimented Leggett on his performance and loved his defensive intensity. He also wants Leggett to play the best way that he knows and not to change his style of play to fit a certain game style.

“I don’t want him to adjust it,” Capel said. “I want him to be aggressive. I want him to be who he is. I think that he understands he has some really good players around him, but I want Ish to be Ish and we want to try to help him continue to get better. I thought he played outstanding tonight, not just the points and the rebounds, but he did a heck of a job defensively. His assignment to start was [Dan] Petcash, Petcash had one field goal. I thought he did a really, really good job there, but I don’t want him to try to change to fit in. We have to understand who he is and we’ll adjust and we’ll fit in around him.”

Leggett is also building the relationship with his teammates to improve on the fast break. Pitt had 22 points on the fast break and forced 12 Binghamton turnovers that led to 16 points as well, demonstrating the great defensive performance from Leggett and the rest of Pitt basketball.

“I think we’re very lethal in transition,” Leggett said. “That’s one of the things we’re trying to do, just get it out, get it in the guards’ hands and just off to the races we go. So it’s definitely something we’re great at.”

The post Ishmael Leggett Double-Double Powers Pitt Past Binghamton appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

Panthers head coach Jeff Capel, senior guard Blake Hinson and Rhode Island transfer junior guard Ishmael Leggett spoke to members of the media following the victory. Capel spoke on the teamwork his players showed throughout the game, Hinson talked about scoring a team-high 26 points, while Leggett discussed his double-double, 18 points and 11 rebounds, against the Bearcats.

The post WATCH: Pitt HC Jeff Capel, F Blake Hinson and G Ish Leggett Speak on Binghamton Win appeared first on Pittsburgh Sports Now.

The Panthers improved to 2-0 on the season, the first time since 2018-19, in head coach Jeff Capel’s first season at the helm. Senior forward Blake Hinson scored 26 points and Rhode Island transfer junior guard Ishmael Leggett scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double.

The great performance saw Pitt fans on Twitter react to what they saw and their hopes for a great rest of the season.

Pitt has played 2 games (albeit bye games) and is 2-0 and have won both games by an avg. of 38.5 points. Just a reminder Capel can’t recruit and would never get a team bought in to him! Pitt will never make the tourney with him as coach. He’s just Stallings 2.0! Fire Capel!

— Ghost of Whip (@GhostofWhip) November 11, 2023

We are so good man this is beautiful

— Cautiously Optimistic Pitt Fan (@pantherhoops12) November 11, 2023

Pitt basketball wins.
WVU basketball loses.

What a way to kick off the weekend.

— Semple Fi Podcast (@semplefipod) November 11, 2023

the diazes graham are my basketball sons and I will take no further questions at this time https://t.co/M34HFcXGKE

— gratefully pitt girl (@the_opg_) November 11, 2023

Pitt is a basketball school

— Ryan Platt (@Ryan24_34) November 11, 2023

After the down years Pitt basketball had & the two seasons Blake Hinson spent not playing basketball at Iowa State, I feel like Hinson and the Oakland Zoo are a match made in heaven.

Pitt fans have been starved for a player like Hinson & Hinson has embraced being a Panther.

— Amanda Godsey (@AmandaFGodsey) November 11, 2023

yo @BinghamtonMBB pic.twitter.com/HXkEbNTWxE

— The Loyal Sons (@TheLoyalSons) November 11, 2023

Fun looking Pitt basketball? Has this ever existed before?

— johnwwool.bsky.social (@johnwwool) November 11, 2023

Very solid win… Blake, Ish and Bub were fantastic, and Guillermo had a great shooting night. Hope to see Zack heat up a little bit

— Tim McConkey (@steelcitytim412) November 11, 2023

This is an insanely fun-looking Pitt basketball team. Excited to watch them match up against FGCU on Monday. That'll be a nice test for them.

Loved that they found a groove to bury Binghamton after Binghamton really scrapped with them in the first half.

— Nick Farabaugh (@Nick_Farabaugh) November 11, 2023

Pitt's going to need Lowe to find his rhythm with some of the tougher games coming up. These early games are a good way for him to work out the struggles in his game.

Carrington has it naturally. Lowe's just taking a bit more adjust but there's clear talent there.

— Nick Farabaugh (@Nick_Farabaugh) November 11, 2023

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