John Hugley is Key to Rebuilding Pitt Basketball
The Pittsburgh Panthers' ACC Tournament hopes were ended in the first round last night after a 66-46 loss to Boston College in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The early stages of the contest were competitive, but as soon as the score reached 41-25 in the second half, things did not go as planned.
However, sophomore forward John Hugley led both teams with 15 points scored and eight rebounds.
Despite a losing effort, he played well, given the circumstances of a disappointing early tournament exit.
This is a sheer microcosm of what he achieved for the Panthers this season, as he carried the team consistently and showed truly explosive star talent more times than not.
The 6-8 big reached double figures in points scored in 23 of his 31 starts which were good enough for a 14.8 points per game season average. In addition, he was the team's leading rebounder with 253 total on the season.
Since his high school days in Cleveland, Ohio, the Pitt forward's potential and talent have been displayed.
In his first season as a full-time starter, he adjusted to the collegiate level well despite being consistently double-teamed. Already, it is an aspect of his game that he is improving upon.
For his current head coach, Jeff Capel, the belief in building around John is a given:
"I think having a guy like John to build off of is something that is really, really important," Capel said. "I think we have an elite big guy that I think will be exciting for people to want to play with. I think we have helped some guys get better. Certainly, Justin Champagnie is an example of that, Mo Gueye is an example of that, Jamarius Burton, he had his best year in college basketball here. So I think we have shown some development with that. But again, you have to continue to add the right pieces, and we have to develop the guys that we have."
As Capel alluded to, teammates such as 6-11 frontcourt counterpart Mouhamadou Gueye averaged his highest point total in a season (9.8) in his three collegiate seasons at the Division I level. But, more importantly, he is someone that the former 4-star high school prospect looks up to.
Moving forward, having quality role players around John Hugley will ultimately make him a force that few teams can contend with. In addition, it will inevitably make the Pitt squared better as well.
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