Jeff Capel quotes:
On Amadasun
“Max is a fast rising post prospect with a great combination of size and athleticism”, said Capel. “ He has the ability to be a high level shot blocker and rebounder. We have been impressed with how quickly his offensive skills have developed in the past year and like the energy and effort he plays with. Max has the opportunity to be another outstanding Pitt Panther to come out of New York City”
On Collier
“We are excited about the versatility and explosiveness in Noah’s game”, said Capel. “He has the ability to guard multiple positions on the floor and possesses a balanced offensive skill set. Noah comes from a terrific program at the Westtown School and has developed winning habits throughout his high school career”
On Jeffress
“Will is a versatile player with big upside at 16 years old”, said Capel. “He comes from a terrific family and will be a great representative of the University of Pittsburgh in all areas. We are excited to add him to our program and believe he will fit in nicely with our core group of players as well as the rest of our incoming class”
On John Hugley
“John is a skilled forward with excellent size and a well-rounded offensive game”, said Capel. “He has very good footwork on the block as well as a nice shooting touch from the perimeter. We really like the work ethic, toughness, and commitment to the game John has shown since we began recruiting him. John has the opportunity to make an immediate impact in our program”
On Femi Odukale
“Femi displaced outstanding versatility, talent, toughness, and competitiveness during an outstanding post-grad season”, said Capel. “We are excited to add him to our recruiting class and look forward to having him in our program. He is mentally and physically mature and will have an opportunity to come in and make an immediate impact next season”
A few thoughts on next year’s roster.
I think there is a very good chance Ithiel Horton leads the team in total minutes played, upwards of 34 minutes per game, with just about all of them coming at the 2. Corey Evans of rivals.com national recruiting reiterated yesterday what Jeff Capel and I have been saying. Horton was the best player of everyone in the practices last year and Corey further indicated he spent time in the open Pitt gyms watching them practice (Corey also has Horton as the top incoming player in the entire ACC for all transfers available). The writing was on the wall for Mcgowens and Murphy with regards to playing time. It should surprise no one if Horton leads the entire team in scoring.
Of the 5 incoming new players, it is highlighted above in bold that the 2 incoming players expected to make “immediate” impacts per Jeff Capel’s own words, Hugley and Odukale. I currently have Hugley at 20 minutes per game and Odukale at 18 in the preseason right now, with Odukale playing both point and point forward. All along I thought these 2 were the most ready and I currently maintain that. I have Jeffress at 15 minutes per game, the bulk of them coming at the 3 with limited minutes at the 2. I think Jeffress shooting ability is being significantly underrated as he made large strides with his 3-point shooting in the last year. Odukale turning 20 years old next winter also has him much more experienced and ready.
This recruiting class is currently the best recruiting class of incoming talent going all the way back to 2007 in my opinion and I don’t think its remotely close (with Horton) regardless of what the final national recruiting rankings say. I think this incoming class is a “major” haul of quality players.
On the national level, the 2020 class is a power class with far more talent and depth nationally than either the 2019 or 2021 classes. Not all class years are created equal with talent.
At this junction, I still am most intrigued by Odukale’s "potential" as a 6’5 point with a 6’11 wingspan who has arguably the highest upside of anyone on the roster in terms of “potential”. I think he is ready right now as he severely upgrades our teams passing ability with John Hugley. I am also intrigued by the upside of Noah Collier who is close to 6’9 with his athletic ability. While I do consider Collier to still be in the development state especially on offense where I consider him fairly raw, I think he will be a nice addition in our 2-3 zone defense and zone trap defensive packages which is what he played at Westtown. Noah should develop nicely with a few years in the program while he works on his game and his strength.
I would also reiterate that Pitt was and still is a major contender for Adama Sanogo. Jeff Capel has recruited Sanogo for over 18 months now. We offered Sanogo before any of the other P6 offers on the table. Seton Hall was the 2nd, Nebraska the 3rd, Uconn a very distant 4th. Andrew Slater reiterated that Pitt is a major contender if you are not taking my word for it. His recruitment should still be ongoing heading into summer.
Without even seeing the schedule next year, I think Pitt is a major contender for 20+ wins and am ready to say that right now assuming the full season is played out. I think Jeff Capel did a spectacular job with addressing our team’s weaknesses including 3 point shooting, rebounding, versatility, and depth. I also think the overall teams “toughness” is going to be taken up multiple notches with additions of Hugley and Odukale, both of which display major "junkyard dog" attitude and toughness on the court. This class with Horton and Jeffress among others is excellent coming into the program and should really elevate our team starting next year.
On Amadasun
“Max is a fast rising post prospect with a great combination of size and athleticism”, said Capel. “ He has the ability to be a high level shot blocker and rebounder. We have been impressed with how quickly his offensive skills have developed in the past year and like the energy and effort he plays with. Max has the opportunity to be another outstanding Pitt Panther to come out of New York City”
On Collier
“We are excited about the versatility and explosiveness in Noah’s game”, said Capel. “He has the ability to guard multiple positions on the floor and possesses a balanced offensive skill set. Noah comes from a terrific program at the Westtown School and has developed winning habits throughout his high school career”
On Jeffress
“Will is a versatile player with big upside at 16 years old”, said Capel. “He comes from a terrific family and will be a great representative of the University of Pittsburgh in all areas. We are excited to add him to our program and believe he will fit in nicely with our core group of players as well as the rest of our incoming class”
On John Hugley
“John is a skilled forward with excellent size and a well-rounded offensive game”, said Capel. “He has very good footwork on the block as well as a nice shooting touch from the perimeter. We really like the work ethic, toughness, and commitment to the game John has shown since we began recruiting him. John has the opportunity to make an immediate impact in our program”
On Femi Odukale
“Femi displaced outstanding versatility, talent, toughness, and competitiveness during an outstanding post-grad season”, said Capel. “We are excited to add him to our recruiting class and look forward to having him in our program. He is mentally and physically mature and will have an opportunity to come in and make an immediate impact next season”
A few thoughts on next year’s roster.
I think there is a very good chance Ithiel Horton leads the team in total minutes played, upwards of 34 minutes per game, with just about all of them coming at the 2. Corey Evans of rivals.com national recruiting reiterated yesterday what Jeff Capel and I have been saying. Horton was the best player of everyone in the practices last year and Corey further indicated he spent time in the open Pitt gyms watching them practice (Corey also has Horton as the top incoming player in the entire ACC for all transfers available). The writing was on the wall for Mcgowens and Murphy with regards to playing time. It should surprise no one if Horton leads the entire team in scoring.
Of the 5 incoming new players, it is highlighted above in bold that the 2 incoming players expected to make “immediate” impacts per Jeff Capel’s own words, Hugley and Odukale. I currently have Hugley at 20 minutes per game and Odukale at 18 in the preseason right now, with Odukale playing both point and point forward. All along I thought these 2 were the most ready and I currently maintain that. I have Jeffress at 15 minutes per game, the bulk of them coming at the 3 with limited minutes at the 2. I think Jeffress shooting ability is being significantly underrated as he made large strides with his 3-point shooting in the last year. Odukale turning 20 years old next winter also has him much more experienced and ready.
This recruiting class is currently the best recruiting class of incoming talent going all the way back to 2007 in my opinion and I don’t think its remotely close (with Horton) regardless of what the final national recruiting rankings say. I think this incoming class is a “major” haul of quality players.
On the national level, the 2020 class is a power class with far more talent and depth nationally than either the 2019 or 2021 classes. Not all class years are created equal with talent.
At this junction, I still am most intrigued by Odukale’s "potential" as a 6’5 point with a 6’11 wingspan who has arguably the highest upside of anyone on the roster in terms of “potential”. I think he is ready right now as he severely upgrades our teams passing ability with John Hugley. I am also intrigued by the upside of Noah Collier who is close to 6’9 with his athletic ability. While I do consider Collier to still be in the development state especially on offense where I consider him fairly raw, I think he will be a nice addition in our 2-3 zone defense and zone trap defensive packages which is what he played at Westtown. Noah should develop nicely with a few years in the program while he works on his game and his strength.
I would also reiterate that Pitt was and still is a major contender for Adama Sanogo. Jeff Capel has recruited Sanogo for over 18 months now. We offered Sanogo before any of the other P6 offers on the table. Seton Hall was the 2nd, Nebraska the 3rd, Uconn a very distant 4th. Andrew Slater reiterated that Pitt is a major contender if you are not taking my word for it. His recruitment should still be ongoing heading into summer.
Without even seeing the schedule next year, I think Pitt is a major contender for 20+ wins and am ready to say that right now assuming the full season is played out. I think Jeff Capel did a spectacular job with addressing our team’s weaknesses including 3 point shooting, rebounding, versatility, and depth. I also think the overall teams “toughness” is going to be taken up multiple notches with additions of Hugley and Odukale, both of which display major "junkyard dog" attitude and toughness on the court. This class with Horton and Jeffress among others is excellent coming into the program and should really elevate our team starting next year.
