The Pitt basketball program received a tough blow as Papa Amadou Kante will be out for the entire 2023-24 season, the school announced on Thursday afternoon. Amadou Kante sustained a non-contact knee injury at a workout on Wednesday evening.
"Papa is a terrific person with great spirit and a relentless work ethic," Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said in a statement. "We feel for him to have this happen so early in his collegiate career. We have an outstanding medical and athletic training staff, and we know that Papa will attack the rehab and recovery process. This will be a minor setback for a young man with a great future in our program."
Amadou Kante committed to Pitt in a surprising manner back in May. He was once a big target for Capel and his staff, but they lost out initially to Michigan during his recruitment. Amadou Kante eventually backed away from that pledge to the Wolverines and almost out of nowhere committed to Pitt. He became the third four-star recruit in Pitt's 2023 recruiting class, making for one of Capel's highest-rated classes since he was hired.
“I just felt the most comfortable with them,” Kante told Panther-Lair.com after his commitment. “It is like a family atmosphere there and I have really gotten to know them well over the past few weeks. They and I both think that I am going to fit well in the system so I could not pass up that opportunity."
The loss to Kante comes within weeks of Pitt dismissing four-star point guard Dior Johnson from school, thus putting the Panthers in a bind for depth before the season has even started.
The 6'11" Amadou Kante was expected to provide depth inside as a freshman, with the chance for a bigger role next season and beyond. If there is one spot where Pitt can probably afford to lose some depth, it may be at center. Pitt returns starting center Federiko Federiko and also promising sophomore Guillermo Diaz Graham, but this certainly hurts Pitt from a depth standpoint.
Pitt will enter the 2023-24 season with 11 healthy scholarship players, headlined by last season's leading scorer and rebounder Blake Hinson.
