Pitt Guard Returns From Injury vs. Stanford

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers got back one of their starting guards for their upcoming matchup vs. Stanford at the Petersen Events Center.

The program announced that senior guard Ishmael Leggett is available for their matchup, after he missed their previous game against Cal, an 86-74 win on New Year's Day, with a lower body injury, his first absence of the season.

He is back in the starting lineup as well, joining fellow guard in sophomore Jaland Lowe, plus forwards in redshirt senior Zack Austin and juniors Cam Corhen and Guillermo Diaz Graham.

These Five 👀 pic.twitter.com/oSKGTqNQ6X
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) January 4, 2025

Panthers head coach Capel said after Cal that they found out at around 12:15-12:30 p.m., just an hour and half before the 2:00 p.m. tip-off, that Leggett wouldn't play.

He also said that Leggett suffered the injury in practice back on Dec. 28, when he stepped on Lowe and rolled his ankle.

Leggett missed the last two practices and when he did his workout in warm-ups to see if he could comeback that's when Capel and the team knew he wouldn't play. He also said they would take a "wait-and-see" approach with Leggett ahead of the Stanford matchup.

Leggett played his first three seasons of college basketball with Rhode Island, with 71 starts in 88 contests. He averaged 27.3 minutes, 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game, while also shooting 39.3% from the field, 33.2% from 3-point range and 78.1% from the foul line.

His best season with the Rams came in 2021-22, when he averaged 34.6 minutes, 16.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.3 assists per game. He also shot 38.7% from the field, 31.8% from behind the arc and 84.2% from the free throw line.

Leggett had a fantastic junior year with the Panthers, winning the 2023-24 ACC Sixth Man of the Year Award. He played in all 32 games, but started just 14 contests, coming off the bench for the final two months of the season, allowing him to earn that honor.

He averaged 12.3 points and 1.9 assists per game led the Panthers with 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while also shooting 42.7% from the field, 34.9% from 3-point range and 85.9% from the foul line last season.

Leggett earned preseason All-ACC Second Team honors heading into this season and has had another great campaign for the program.

He leads the team with 17.5 points per game and ranks second with 33.5 minutes played, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He is also shooting 51.3% from the field, 32.7% from 3-point range and 74.5% from the foul line.

Pitt had two of their guards out vs. Cal, as graduate student guard Damian Dunn missed his sixth consecutive game, undergoing surgery on his right thumb after injuring it against Wisconsin in the Greenbrier Tip-Off back on Nov. 24.

The Panthers had freshman guard Brandin "Beebah" Cummings step in for Leggett for his firstcollegiate start. He scored 15 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 2-for-3 from the foul line, while grabbing four rebounds and making three assists in 38 minutes in the win over the Golden Bears.

Dunn warmed up with the team prior to the Stanford matchup, but the program didn't announce if he will play in the game or not.

#Pitt guards Ish Leggett and Damian Dunn are warming up ahead of their matchup with Stanford at 6:30

Dunn has missed the last six games after undergoing surgery on his right thumb

Leggett missed the last game vs. Cal with a Lower body injury pic.twitter.com/dae6NNfGMe
— Dominic Campbell (@DOMISMONEY) January 4, 2025

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