There is little doubt Pitt’s 24-win campaign a season ago was fueled by the strength of its veteran guards. The Panthers made their first-ever NCAA Tournament under head coach Jeff Capel and veterans Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings, Greg Elliott, and Nike Sibande were a big reason for the team's success.
The 2023-24 Panthers will have a different look in the backcourt. Gone are those four players who helped flip the program and now the responsibility of running the show will fall onto the shoulders to a trio of newcomers. Rhode Island transfer Ishmael Leggett along with highly-touted freshmen Carlton ‘Bub’ Carrington and Jaland Lowe are now tasked with keeping the backcourt humming at a high level.
“I know it’s a heavy load to pick up, but we know what we have to do,” said Lowe, a four-star freshman out of Texas. “I feel like those guys from last year really set the standard and we know the standard and we are trying to just go in and accomplish even more.”
Burton was a first team All-ACC pick, Sibande was the Sixth Man of the Year, while Cummings and Elliott both averaged double figures on the way to Pitt’s most successful season since 2016. It’s a lot to replace, but the group in place feels confident in their ability to keep things rolling.
“I feel like we can exceed that,” Carrington said of the foundation provided by last year’s team. "I mean, I feel like these guys are my brothers and I’ve known them for a couple of months. I feel like we definitely mesh well and getting to know each other, not just on the court, but off the court will help us win a lot of games this year.”
Leggett is the elder statement of the trio and even though he has not been with the Pitt program prior to this year, he has experience his teammates can lean on this season and he has the leadership to help carry his younger backcourt mates.
The Rhode Island transfer has appeared in 87 games in his college career and started 70 games during his time with the Rams. He was the seventh leading scorer in the Atlantic-10 last season after averaging 16.4 points per game.
“I think as a backcourt we’re meshing well,” said Leggett. “These guys have been amazing. They’ve been sponges. They’ve been just great backcourt partners. I just can’t wait for the season to show what we’ve been working on this preseason, but I think it’s coming along well and I think the season will show that.”
The Panthers have yet to play an official game together with the season opener a little under a month away, but through offseason work, practices, and a foreign tour to Spain, the group is starting to learn more about each other and how they will respond to in-game situations.
“Our second game in Spain, it was a little rough, but just seeing how they responded to adversity,” Leggett said of what impressed him about his younger teammates. “I mean, every game this year is not going to be what we want, but I was glad to see that they responded to adversity in a great manner and they were very next-play-oriented and it was good that I saw that.”
Gaining that type trust in his younger teammates is key for Leggett, because aside from graduate transfer Michael Huett, the two freshmen are the only other guards on the roster. Carrington and Lowe both chose Pitt with the understanding they would be thrown into the fire at a young age and it is something both are trying to embrace.
“We knew coming in that we would have that opportunity to play on-ball and play right away as freshmen,” said Lowe. “Me and Bub, we stay in the gym. That’s all we do.”
Both young guards have a lot of natural ability, but learning to take those tools to become a good college player is necessary. They both talked about their love of watching film and staying in the gym in general, but Carrington has picked up on other things that are important to the position. Guards are required to talk on the court and direct teammates, and he feels that has been a big part of his learning curve.
“You’ve got to be a vocal leader and just continuous talk to uplift, whether direct command or whatever it is, just being vocal and showing your voice will help a team because you’re always on the same page,” Carrington explained.
The two young guards are leaning on Leggett’s leadership for the day to day, but even without those guys from last year’s team still in Pittsburgh, Carrington and Lowe have been able to take things away from them. Both were tuned into Pitt’s run last season, but they then got to spend time with those guys during the summer.
“Those guys, they were around for a good bit,” Lowe said of Pitt’s graduated players from last year’s team. "They taught us a lot and they said anything they could say to help us for this incoming year as a freshmen as new guys coming into the conference. Those guys are great to be around.”
Added Carrington, “They made sure that they were available for us. I still FaceTime these dudes and they are 17 hours away and we still talk all the time.”
The Panthers are hoping that the new backcourt has picked up enough to bridge the two seasons. Of course, the team may have lost its guard leadership from last year, but the Panthers still boast leading scorer and rebounder from that team in Blake Hinson. He has been another voice to guide Pitt’s new guards.
“He’s always bringing the energy and making sure that we bring the energy because you can’t do anything if you’re stale,” Carrington said of Hinson’s leadership. “He knows that and understands that, especially when you have a younger group of guys. They tend to fall out of line a lot, but understand that and makes sure that he’s vocal and makes sure we’re on top of things.”
Despite last year’s success, the Panthers have not been talked about much in regards to being one of the ACC favorites. Pitt’s young guys are aware of that and they are working quietly to help the Panthers surprise the league agains this season.
“We’re just eager to learn, because we know how much responsibility we have this year and to pick up where we left off from last year because that's all we want to do is to exceed expectations,” Lowe explained. “We already know what everybody is saying about us. We have the responsibility to put the work in to prove ourselves right and prove others wrong.”
