Elliott didn't need long to pick Pitt
It only took about two days for Greg Elliott.
The guard transfer from Marquette visited Pitt over the weekend, and on Tuesday afternoon, he announced that he wanted to spend his last year of eligibility as a Panther.
“Right after the trip I figured Pitt was the place for me,” Elliott told Panther-Lair.com. “Talking to Coach (Jeff) Capel and the rest of the staff, it was a need and a want. They kept on telling me they needed me and I could really hear it in their voice. Especially with this upcoming year being my last year, I wanted to go somewhere where I felt wanted and not just a place where I would just be filling a scholarship.”
A career 44.8% shooter who hit 40.9% from three at Marquette, Elliott is going to bring depth to the Panthers in the backcourt, and he is looking forward to using his shooting ability to help take some pressure off John Hugley.
“I am going to help them space the floor, get John less double teams so he can get some space to work. We are going to have more guard depth now with me coming in so we can play faster but the main thing is the spacing. We are really going to be able to space the floor.”
The prospect of playing with Hugley - one of the top centers in the ACC - is enticing for prospective Pitt targets, and Hugley himself has taken an active role in recruiting for the Panthers this offseason. That was the case with Elliott, and it was a factor as he made his decision.
“John has been real hands-on,” Elliott said. “He knows he had a great year last year and he wants to have another great year this year but he knows he will need some help and I think a player with my skill set is going to help tremendously and that is what he was telling me. He was also telling me he is a willing passer and something like that will only expand his game.”
Jake Presutti, who is an assistant A.D. of scouting at Pitt, has known Elliott for quite some time. Presutti was on the staff at Marquette from 2014-21 as video coordinator, director of basketball operations and then assistant coach - the latter of which overlapped with Elliott’s five years with the Golden Eagles.
Now they’re reconnecting in Pittsburgh.
“It was my relationship with Coach Capel but also my good relationship with Coach Presutti,” Elliott said. “He was at Marquette with me so he and I have a really good relationship and he helped me through all of this. Coach Presutti is a guy I can trust so I was really happy to get back with him and have him in my corner again.”
The Pitt roster is going to have a lot of new faces next year but the expectations from the Panthers are going to be higher, and the players know it.
“Our expectations are to make a complete turnaround,” Elliott said. “We want to become a top team in the ACC and I think with the pieces from last year and the new pieces we have coming in, I think we can make some serious strides.