... "overheard" isn't really this right word. All of this stuff was told to me directly.
Let me start by offering the most appropriate "grain of salt." Everything to follow in this post can't be verified. So believe what you will.
So ... I'm standing in line at a concession stand talking to a friend who asked me about what I thought about this upcoming season. Just like that, the guy behind us starts offering up all kinds of information. He did explain just how he knew this, and if true, he certainly would be in a position to know everything he suggested (I won't say want his connection is, but ask that folks take my word for it). And I have no reason to really doubt his story. If he was making any of this up, he follows everything about Pitt hoops more closely than any of us.
Basically, I'll say that I pretty much believed everything he told me. (As none of this is inconsistent with anything which has been reported to date, one way or another.)
So here goes ...
** Hugley is coming to Pitt. He's pretty much told the staff as much.
** Before one gets too excited about Hugley, he added that he's not too excited about Hugley. He's big and he's skilled, but he does not move well at all. He's got a long way to go before he's in the shape he needs to be a contributor at an ACC level. He even said he thinks he's more of an A-10 player at this time.
** Nonetheless, we all agreed that Hugley is absolutely a recruit who Capel must get -- it's the exact kind of recruiting battle that is right there for the Panthers, and if he ends up elsewhere, this is something of a troubling result.
** The staff feels very confident about getting R.J. Davis.
** He said D.J. Gordon and Puff Johnson both want to come to Pitt. He said that both of them said this to him directly. I pushed back saying I know someone who knows the family and they are convinced he's going to Arizona. We agreed that Puff's Dad is likely a huge player in the decision.
** Cam Johnson is really pushing Puff to go to UNC.
** Regardless of where Puff ends up, he's not going to make an immediate major impact. He's not really that good of a player at this time.
** He didn't have any good idea if we have a good chance at Timberlake.
** He explained that Capel is having a tough time with recruiting simply because recruits are looking at our record and they just think Pitt is really down. This gentleman really likes Capel, and especially his brother, but the work in front of them is tough.
** Xavier Johnson will leave after this season. The staff is planning accordingly.
** Trey and Xavier are very close, but Trey's is kind of struggling with the draft attention that X is getting. Trey is still working on improving his shot but this guy wasn't optimistic that it is getting much better. He said Trey had a tough year last season with confidence, which was furthered by some typical freshman girlfriend problems.
** The chances of getting Trey's brother are very slim -- those around Trey still can't believe he chose to go to Pitt.
** He wasn't very high on Ryan Murphy. He doesn't think he has the needed athleticism to guard anyone at the level, even though he can shoot it well.
** He really likes Justin Champagne's athleticism and thinks he will be much better than people are expecting. He wasn't nearly as optimistic about Karim Coulibay.
** That's about everything I can remember for certain -- the conversation was cut off abruptly as the second half of game was starting. But as the conversation was ending, he did say that Pitt was definitely going to get a really, really good player for 2022. I can't recall who he said it was, but I'm pretty sure he said it was a local guy.
So again, I suggest that others take all of this post as just some good "deep background." Still, I thought it was a very interesting conversation, worthy enough to post here tonight.
Let me start by offering the most appropriate "grain of salt." Everything to follow in this post can't be verified. So believe what you will.
So ... I'm standing in line at a concession stand talking to a friend who asked me about what I thought about this upcoming season. Just like that, the guy behind us starts offering up all kinds of information. He did explain just how he knew this, and if true, he certainly would be in a position to know everything he suggested (I won't say want his connection is, but ask that folks take my word for it). And I have no reason to really doubt his story. If he was making any of this up, he follows everything about Pitt hoops more closely than any of us.
Basically, I'll say that I pretty much believed everything he told me. (As none of this is inconsistent with anything which has been reported to date, one way or another.)
So here goes ...
** Hugley is coming to Pitt. He's pretty much told the staff as much.
** Before one gets too excited about Hugley, he added that he's not too excited about Hugley. He's big and he's skilled, but he does not move well at all. He's got a long way to go before he's in the shape he needs to be a contributor at an ACC level. He even said he thinks he's more of an A-10 player at this time.
** Nonetheless, we all agreed that Hugley is absolutely a recruit who Capel must get -- it's the exact kind of recruiting battle that is right there for the Panthers, and if he ends up elsewhere, this is something of a troubling result.
** The staff feels very confident about getting R.J. Davis.
** He said D.J. Gordon and Puff Johnson both want to come to Pitt. He said that both of them said this to him directly. I pushed back saying I know someone who knows the family and they are convinced he's going to Arizona. We agreed that Puff's Dad is likely a huge player in the decision.
** Cam Johnson is really pushing Puff to go to UNC.
** Regardless of where Puff ends up, he's not going to make an immediate major impact. He's not really that good of a player at this time.
** He didn't have any good idea if we have a good chance at Timberlake.
** He explained that Capel is having a tough time with recruiting simply because recruits are looking at our record and they just think Pitt is really down. This gentleman really likes Capel, and especially his brother, but the work in front of them is tough.
** Xavier Johnson will leave after this season. The staff is planning accordingly.
** Trey and Xavier are very close, but Trey's is kind of struggling with the draft attention that X is getting. Trey is still working on improving his shot but this guy wasn't optimistic that it is getting much better. He said Trey had a tough year last season with confidence, which was furthered by some typical freshman girlfriend problems.
** The chances of getting Trey's brother are very slim -- those around Trey still can't believe he chose to go to Pitt.
** He wasn't very high on Ryan Murphy. He doesn't think he has the needed athleticism to guard anyone at the level, even though he can shoot it well.
** He really likes Justin Champagne's athleticism and thinks he will be much better than people are expecting. He wasn't nearly as optimistic about Karim Coulibay.
** That's about everything I can remember for certain -- the conversation was cut off abruptly as the second half of game was starting. But as the conversation was ending, he did say that Pitt was definitely going to get a really, really good player for 2022. I can't recall who he said it was, but I'm pretty sure he said it was a local guy.
So again, I suggest that others take all of this post as just some good "deep background." Still, I thought it was a very interesting conversation, worthy enough to post here tonight.
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