Jeff Capel at the ACC Press Conference
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Panthers Pursuing a Five-Star Guard, Activity in the Transfer Portal, Samson George Set to Transfer, and More

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Jeff Capel at the ACC Press Conference

I always enjoy writing these recruiting update posts for Pitt basketball. If you followed the website that I maintained before making the jump to Dream Backfield in 2019, you will surely have noticed that much of my content surrounded the Panthers men’s basketball program.

Recently, I’ve started creating that same content here at Dream Backfield, and I hope that you’ve been enjoying it. I intend for this to become a once-a-week feature (and possibly more than once each week at times depending on how much news there is), filled with the interesting Pitt recruiting tidbits that you, the reader, are looking for.

It’s been a week since our last recruiting update on March 20, and there’s been no shortage of news on the recruiting trail, so let’s get to it.

  • Our first bit of news is a big one, as Jeff Capel and Pitt are pursuing a major piece for the 2020 class–five-star guard Karim Mane, out of Vanier College in Canada:

  • According to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers.com, Mane is considering his options and still might go the NBA route, but is considering Pitt among a slew of top D-I programs including Michigan State, Memphis, and Georgetown. He has also reportedly taken official visits to Marquette and Maryland.
  • Mane, who is ranked no. 25 in the country in the class of 2020 by 247sports, had been planning to visit Pitt prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Pittsburgh Sports Now. That’s a tough break for the Panthers, as getting a recruit like Mane on campus is always a game changer, especially for an ace recruiter like Capel. As of now, any future visit to Pitt is up in the air.
  • Pitt has been very active in the transfer portal this offseason, and as I noted last week, they had been in contact with Virginia Tech transfer Landers Nolley II and Wichita State transfer Jamarius Burton. Since last week, Pitt has also checked in on Illinois sophomore transfer Alan Griffin and Houston Baptist graduate transfer guard Ian DuBose:

  • Griffin put up 8.9 points per game while shooting 41.6 percent from three-point land as a sophomore in the Big Ten this past year, adding 4.5 rebounds per game for good measure. Meanwhile, DuBose put up 19.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game in the Southland conference, and would be a nice role player to have as a graduate transfer next season.
  • Pitt has also reportedly reached out to Gardner-Webb graduate transfer Nate Johnson, and has been named one of the top options for Dartmouth graduate transfer Brendan Barry:

  • Johnson shot 41.6 percent from three this season on a very high volume (6.0 attempts per game), and like Griffin, would add a lot to Pitt’s perimeter shooting. That goes for Barry as well, who shot nearly 45 percent from deep in 2018-19.
  • However, Barry sat out the entire 2019-20 season with a hip injury. With just one year of eligibility remaining, it could be a risk to expect that a guard who just missed an entire year with a hip injury could enter the picture and fully replace the production of Trey McGowens, or even Ryan Murphy. That’s not to say that he couldn’t do it–just that it poses a greater risk given that he just missed the entire season.
  • For more news on Pitt’s activity in the transfer portal, keep your eyes on Dream Backfield, as I’ll soon be posting a piece on some potential transfer portal fits for the Panthers.
  • On the “exiting” side of the portal, Samson George is officially set to transfer, as he has entered the transfer portal as a graduate transfer:

  • This was expected, as George, who rarely played during his three years at Pitt, participated in Senior Day activities this year for the Panthers. We’ll keep our eye on this situation and keep you posted with any updates.
  • Meanwhile, as of a week ago, East Carolina had been pursuing transfer Ryan Murphy the hardest, according to Stephen Igoe, of Hoist The Colours:

  • And for Trey McGowens, the big transfer prize out of Pitt, the recruitment is still heating up as Matt Connolly of The State shares that McGowens has heard from Oregon State, Gonzaga, Arizona State, TCU, and several other schools. He says that McGowens would also consider home-state school South Carolina, and would be interested in hearing from Florida State, where his younger brother Bryce has committed as a part of the class of 2021.
  • Our final note today involves a Pitt Panther from the Kevin Stallings era, as he explores his possible NBA options:

  • Stewart, who transferred out of Pitt after Stallings was fired, put up some very solid numbers at UT-Martin this past season, and should be eligible to return to school with two more seasons of eligibility if he doesn’t like his odds to crack the NBA this season (as long as he doesn’t hire an agent).

That’s our recruiting news for now, and as I said, be sure to check back in for an update on some of the top transfer portal names and their possible fit with the Panthers soon. You can follow me on Twitter @PittHoops for more.

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