Pitt still hopeful to have Sibande this season
Pitt landed a commitment from Nike Sibande back in June. The Miami (OH) transfer has one year of eligibility remaining in his college career and he had hoped he could use that this season. He petitioned the NCAA to be granted immediate eligibility, but his waiver was denied back in September and he has since appealed that decision. Both Sibande and Pitt are hopeful a ruling will come in their favor in the near future.
There has been no recent movement on the NCAA’s end, but Sibande’s situation has picked up national attention when Jay Bilas of ESPN released an investigative story looking into the dynamic of his transfer, and it revealed that his former school, in a sense, is holding his eligibility hostage.
Pitt head coach Jeff Capel spoke to the media earlier today following the first official day of practice for the upcoming 2020-21 season. Capel was asked about how Sibande is handling the situation, and the third-year Pitt coach told his own story when he was faced with a similar situation this offseason.
Pitt guard Trey McGowens opted to transfer out of the program following last season. He eventually found a home with Nebraska in the Big Ten, and he too was seeking immediate eligibility, which he was granted by the NCAA on October 5th.
Capel made it clear that he will support former players in the transfer portal and will do what is best for each individual athlete, but will not lie to bolster the waiver, nor will he run off a player from his own program.
“I will support a waiver because even though the kid I left, I care about the kid. I’m not going to get in the kids’ way,” he explained.
Capel went further into the story behind McGowens’ transfer and after speaking with Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg, Pitt happily obliged and supported the waiver, which ultimately was ruled in McGowens' favor.
“I told him, I’ll do anything I can to help him, but I’m going to let you know I’m not going to lie and so that’s what I’ve tried to do because to me it’s about trying to try to help the kid continue to live his dream and fulfill out his dream,” Capel said of McGowens’ transfer.
The Pitt coach circled back and questioned whether the NCAA should even leave it up to the departing school to make these kind of decisions and hold athletes’ careers in jeopardy.
In the end, he is hoping to Sibande's ruling will go in his favor and he can help the Pitt team for the upcoming season.
“He had a really good experience at Miami of Ohio,” Capel said of Sibande. “He really cared about his coaches and he cared about the people there and he worked his butt for three years there and we’re hopeful that the NCAA will grant the appeal and he’ll be able to play.”
Pitt could also really use Sibande this season. The Panthers return Xavier Johnson and Au’Diese Toney as backcourt players, and welcome in transfer Ithiel Horton, who sat out last season following his transfer from Delaware. Sibande is a 6’4” experienced guard that averaged 15.1 points per game in his career with Miami. His versatility and depth could be a real asset for this team.
“He gives us a guy that has experience at the college level in the backcourt,” Capel said of Sibande. “Nike would be a guy that would give us experience. He scored over 1,500 points and he’s a really good athlete and he just gives us another guy that can help create offense for us.”