Austin set to return

Another Pitt basketball player confirmed his return on Monday.

According to the post above from the official Pitt men’s basketball account, Zack Austin will be back for another season with the Panthers.

Austin arrived in Oakland last offseason as a transfer from High Point, where he spent three seasons - the last two of which saw him start 58 of his 63 games, averaging 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.

In his first season at Pitt, Austin started 31-of-33 games and averaged 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 41.7% from the field. He also made 28 three-pointers, seven of which came in the final five regular-season games, when he shot 50% - 7-of-14 - from beyond the arc.

Austin scored in double figures eight times, including a season-high 20 points in Pitt’s win at Louisville in early January and 19 points in a win over Oregon State. He also had a season-high 14 rebounds in Pitt’s win over Virginia Tech in February.

Austin is the third confirmed returning contributor for the Panthers this offseason, joining point guard Jaland Lowe and ACC Sixth Man of the Year Ishmael Leggett. Pitt lost Blake Hinson to eligibility, Bub Carrington to the NBA and Federiko Federiko to the transfer portal, but the Panthers have added Florida State forward Cam Corhen and Houston guard Damian Dunn to fill out the rotation.