Pitt gets ready to move on without Johnson and Toney
“It’s been an interesting week to say the least,” Jeff Capel said on his weekly radio show with Jeff Hathhorn on 93.7 The Fan on Thursday evening.
That probably sums it up best. Pitt saw two starters unexpectedly transfer out of the program this week with junior point guard Xavier Johnson departing on Wednesday and junior forward Au’Diese Toney following that lead on Thursday.
Pitt has three more scheduled games and the ACC Tournament ahead, and will be playing all of those games without its second and third leading scorers from this season.
Capel’s appearance on 93.7 The Fan was his first time talking publicly about the departure of both players. Both Johnson and Toney were part of his initial recruiting class when he first took over the job.
“There are a lot of factors that go into these decisions and again, we wish them well,” he said. “For us, we’re trying to focus on the guys that we have and to finish our season as strongly as we possibly can.”
Toney missed Saturday’s game with Florida State due to a concussion, and Capel revealed that he may have not returned at all this season.
“We knew that he was going to be out on Sunday,” Capel said of Toney. “I wasn’t sure about Tuesday, then we weren’t sure about the last game. So we’ve played a game without Au’Diese. It definitely affects our depth, our experience, those guys were two of our most experienced guys, so that’s in the short term.”
The short term effects of the transfers will be noticeable. Pitt will be down to 10 scholarship players when it takes the court on Sunday. Johnson’s departure leaves just Femi Odukale as the lone point guard on the scholarship roster for the remainder of the season.
The long-term repercussions of these decisions will be something to monitor. Pitt now has at least four scholarships to hand out prior to next season. Currently the Panthers have zero names on their commitment list,. This offseason will be highly important for this coaching staff on the recruiting trail.
"We have to recruit, we have to get guys. We have to continue to develop the young men in our program and that’s what we plan to do,” Capel said of the plan moving forward. “I look at it as it gives us two more scholarships to go out and to get guys that really want to be here and be a part of what we’re doing along with the guys that we have.”
The departures will give the current freshman class more of an opportunity. Odukale has been a key figure in the rotation all season, and has gone from being the point guard of the future, to the one of the present.
“He has a good feel for the game offensively and defensively,” Capel said of his freshman point guard. “He has good size, length. He’s a good athlete and he has a toughness about him and so that’s something we’re going to continue to work with him on and challenge him on, but he’ll certainly get more of an opportunity now.”
Toney’s departure may be handled by more of a committee approach. Nike Sibande started last game in his absence. In addition to him, Pitt has a pair of freshman forwards that have not seen as much action of late, but that is likely to change.
William Jeffress was a top-100 recruit in the class of 2020, but he is on the young side at only 17 years of age and he saw his role decrease throughout the season. Capel, though, sees a bright future for the Erie native.
“We believe in Will. We really, really believe that he’s going to be an outstanding player here and a guy that’s going to help us change this program,” he said.
Noah Collier is another freshmen that should see a bigger role down the stretch Capel acknowledged.
“Other guys are going to get playing time,” he said. “I feel like we still have good players. Everyone just has to step up a little bit.”
Pitt begins its final three-game stretch on Sunday with a game against North Carolina State. The matchup is set for 4:00 p.m. on the ACC Network.