As usual, the summer months are a bit slow in terms of news surrounding the Pitt basketball team.
But that also gives Jamie Dixon the opportunity to look towards the future in terms of recruiting.
With that being said, it has been an interesting couple of months for Dixon and the Panthers.
I will start with the basketball team where Dixon lost one of his top assistants for the second time when Barry Rohrssen decided to leave the program once again, this time to join John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky. Oddly enough Rohrssen is replacing former Panther Orlando Antigua at Kentucky as Antigua left the Wildcats to become the head coach of South Florida.
However Dixon replaced Rohrssen with former UMass assistant coach Marlon “Smoke” Williamson.
While much is made of Rohrssen’s recruiting, especially the pipeline from New York to Pittsburgh, Williamson is no slouch recruiter of his own as he has recruiting ties in the Midwest region. That alone should start to see the Panthers land talent from other regions, which is a necessity.
The only interesting thing here is that Rohrssen landed five-star shooting guard/ small forward Mustapha Heron for the Class of 2016 so it will be interesting to see if Heron stays loyal to Pitt.
So while Heron and shooting guard Maverick Rowan out of Lincoln Park are the first commit to the Class of 2016, Dixon and company have also added one member to the Class of 2015 as well already in four-star recruit Damon Wilson (Our Savior New American School, Centereach, NY).
If this keeps up, the Panthers could find themselves with Top 10 recruiting classes the next couple of season, which is a very nice step for Dixon and company.
But that is still a couple of years down the road and most people want to know what the Panthers will look like next season.
Lamar Patterson was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft and Talib Zanna graduated, so there’s a lot of production that needs to be replaced.
Pitt was a fairly young team last season and looks to be just as young this year.
After center Shaquille Doorson was released from his scholarship and elected to sign with Rutgers and four-star guard Detrick Mostella decided to head to Tennessee instead of Pitt, the Panthers are at the maximum number of scholarship allowed with four recruits coming into the program.
Mostella’s scoring potential will be missed, but Dixon seems to have added some quality talent to the 2014 team.
Pitt’s Class of 2014 is as follows:
- C (Junior College transfer) Tyrone Haughton (Iowa Western) Council Bluffs, IA, 6’9”/250. Haughton is listed as a three-star recruit by Rivals and a four star by ESPN. He has two years of eligibility remaining and could be in the running to begin the season as the starting center.
- PF Ryan Luther (Hampton HS) Allison Park, PA, 6’7”/190. Luther is a name many should know and is a versatile player with a variety of skills who can play on the wing and hit 3-pointers.
- PF Sheldon Jeter (Polk HS) Winter Haven, FL, 6’7”/220. A Beaver Falls native, Jeter is a tough, athletic and physical wing player who will have three years of eligibility at Pitt after sitting out the 2013-14 season. Jeter transferred to Pitt after playing his freshman season at Vanderbilt (2012-13), where he averaged 5.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while seeing action in all 33 games and making seven starts.
- G Cameron Johnson (Our Lady Sacred Heart HS) Coraopolis, PA, 6’6”/185. Johnson went from being a small point guard, to a rangy forward with the same skill set after a growth spurt. But he is an intriguing prospect who could likely see time at multiple positions.
Despite some losses Dixon and his staff continues to bring in talent and before long could field an extremely athletic and talented team at the Petersen Events Center.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
