Pitt adds Ithiel Horton
Pitt picked up a much-needed commitment today as Delaware transfer Ithiel Horton announced he has committed to Pitt. He chose Pitt over his one other finalist Arkansas according to his Instagram. Horton visited Pitt on Sunday June 30th and immediately traveled to Arkansas the next day before deciding on the Panthers this week.
Following his visit to Pittsburgh, he had this to say to recap his trip. "Great visit to Pitt," Horton told Panther-Lair.com. "The city and the history of the city is very rich and has a very diverse culture. Facilities were the best in the game with a legendary coach who knows the game inside and out.
"Doesn't get better than Jeff Capel."
Horton comes to Pitt as a sit-one and play-three transfer. He will not be able to impact the team this season on the court, but he should be a solid player to add to the mix for the 2020-21 season and beyond. Horton will be able to workout with the team for a year, and should make for some good practice competition between he and Pitt’s sophomore guard tandem of Xavier Johnson and Trey McGowens.
Horton was a late transfer by NCAA standards as he announced his intentions to leave Delaware on June 27th. Pitt was one of the many teams to reach out to the 6’3” guard. Other teams that expressed interest were Arkansas, George Washington, Marquette, Miami, Minnesota, Northwestern, South Florida, UCLA, Virginia Tech, and Xavier. He quickly planned a visit to Pitt and Arkansas - as the two programs emerged as his two favorites right away.
In his one season at Delaware, Horton was an instant impact player for the Blue Hens. He was named to the CAA All-Freshman team and was the top scoring freshman in the conference. Horton posted 13.2 points per game and started 22 games for Delaware. His play really started to pick up late in the year. Over his final four games of the season h averaged 22.2 points per game.
Horton’s strong suit is outside shooting, an area where Pitt Ould definitely use some help. He connected on 40.1% of his 3-point shots during the 2018-19 campaign, which would have been tops on Pitt’s team just ahead of Jared Wilson-Frame’s 39% shooting.
Out of high school, Horton flew under the radar. Despite playing for New Jersey powerhouse Roselle Catholic alongside some McDonald's All-American's, Horton's recruitment was mostly dominated by mid-major programs.
Pitt now has 12 scholarship players heading into the 2019-20 season, meaning there is still one available to use. It would appear, however, that Pitt’s roster is set for this upcoming season at this point. Pitt will go into the year looking to improve upon it’s 14-19 record from a year ago. Jeff Capel’s squad will be built around the talented sophomore group of Johnson, McGowens, and Au’Diese Toney.
Capel will also welcome a recruiting class that features three-star wings Justin Champagnie and Gerald Drumgoole, along with three-star power forward Karim Coulibaly. Ryan Murphy is a junior college transfer at shooting guard, and Eric Hamilton is a graduate transfer from UNC-Greensboro.