Au’Diese Toney’s Pitt basketball career came to an end this week. One day following the decision made by Xavier Johnson to leave the program, Toney joined him in the transfer portal.
The departure of Toney certainly ends an era of Pitt basketball. The 2018 recruiting class was Jeff Capel’s first, and all three players that signed on to help save the program have now since transferred.
Toney was the last player from that class to commit to Pitt, and the last to leave. He joined Johnson and McGowens when he committed on June 6, 2018. At the time, Toney was excited about the prospects of joining Capel’s program.
"I’ve just seen what the coaches are trying to do,” Toney said following his commitment. “They’re just trying to rebuild and I want to be a part of that to get the Pitt program back to how it was, and how it used to be: the No. 1 program in the country.”
Like Johnson and McGowens, Toney found himself inserted into the starting lineup right away. He notched 12 points and 9 rebounds in his college debut against Youngstown State. From there, Toney had a successful run during non-conference play of his freshman campaign.
Toney, Johnson, and McGowens all scored over 20 points each in a 99-57 win over New Orleans. The trio had Pitt out to a 10-3 start before ACC play began that season.
Unlike Johnson and McGowens, he did not achieve that same kind of success once league play rolled around. Toney only reached double figures twice against ACC competition. Toney finished the year averaging 7.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a game. He played out of position most of the year, but proved to be the team’s best defender and showed a knack for rebounding.
Toney’s sophomore campaign played out differently, as he started slow, but found his game once ACC play got going. He made a name for himself with a 27-point outburst against Duke on national TV and recorded a trio of memorable dunks in that game.
Toney played well down the stretch in 2020, but the Pitt team faltered in the final month of the season. The Panthers closed out the regular season on a seven-game losing streak. Toney’s numbers across the board got better. His averages went up, as did his shooting percentages, and that led to some optimism entering his third season.
Pitt opened the year with an upset loss to St. Francis (PA), but Toney posted a solid 20 points that game. He went onto score double figures in 12 of the 16 games he played this season, while missing two with an injury.
While sophomore Justin Champagnie and even Xavier Johnson stealing most of the attention, it was the steady unsung play from Toney that helped get Pitt out to an 8-2 start this season.
During Pitt’s three-game stretch where it beat Syracuse twice and Duke, Toney averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds, including a 22-point and 11-rebound game against Duke.
“I thought Au’Diese was amazing as well with not just the 22 and 11, but what he did defensively,” Capel said after that Duke game. “D.J. Steward is a guy coming into this game averaging about 14 points a game and 2-for-8 with six points, that was a huge key for us.”
The season took a turn since that game. Pitt is in the midst of a 1-7 slide following the win against Duke. Toney’s final time in a Pitt uniform came on February 17th, a 74-73 loss to NC State.
Pitt had a chance to win that game, and the final play was drawn up for Toney, though it came up short.
“We wanted to clear a side,” Capel said following that NC State game. “He has been playing well. He was 6 for 10 at the time from the field and ‘Diese is a strong driver and he had a freshman on him.”
A concussion prior to the Florida State game kept him out of the lineup that day. Just yesterday on his radio show, Capel revealed that that injury may have kept him out of the lineup the rest of the season as well.
Of that three-man 2018 recruiting class, Toney showed the most personal growth as a player during his time at Pitt. At the time of his departure, he was second on the team in scoring (14.4), rebounding (5.9), and assists (2.3) for the 2020-21 season. He elevated his game a lot from the freshmen that arrived in Oakland three years ago from Huntsville, Alabama.
Now his chapter, and that of the 2018 recruiting class is over in Pittsburgh The team has posted a 39-45 record in three seasons with Capel coaching and that class anchoring the program.
