Pitt loses commitment from Hood-Schifino

The Pitt basketball program got off to a hot start on the recruiting trail in the class of 2022 when it landed a pledge from Jalen Hood-Schifino back in December. Hood-Schifino is originally a Pittsburgh native, but was playing high school basketball in North Carolina at the time.

The talented and versatile 6'5" guard had scholarship offers Florida, Illinois, and Ole Miss at the time of his commitment, but chose his hometown team. Today, however, Hood-Schifino has announced he is re-opening his recruitment after a few weeks of speculation. Hood-Schifino recently transferred from Combine Academy to the prestigious Florida basketball powerhouse Montverde Academy, where he will play for one of the top five teams in the country and star alongside a number of other top-100 recruits.

Hood-Schifino's profile has gained traction after a strong sophomore season, and programs like North Carolina and Kansas have begun to show interest. Pitt will still factor strongly into the recruitment moving forward, but the competition to land his commitment will ultimately be greater.

Jeff Capel is bringing in a nationally recognized class in 2020 and recruiting for the program appears to be on the upswing. The class is headlined by four-stars William Jeffress and John Hugley. Pitt also brought in coveted transfer Nike Sibande, and Delware transfer Ithiel Horton is set to be eligible for this upcoming season as well. In total, Pitt will have seven new names on the roster for next season.

The loss of Hood-Schifino certainly stings, however.

He was a player that would not be coming into the program for a few more years, but he is a high-profile recruit that could attract other top talent. Sophomores committing across the country don't always work out, but the Pitt basketball program has seen this happen before with Terrelle Pryor, Herb Pope, Maverick Rowan, and Mustapha Heron eventually backing away from their commitments.

The focus moving forward will be filling out the 2021 class. Pitt is set to have two seniors this season, but if Sibande is not granted immediate eligibility than it would be back down to one, thus making the 2021 recruiting class a smaller one.

Pitt remains in contention for some top-level players like Aminu Mohammed, Jordan Hawkins, Franck Kepnang, David Jones, and more.