Pitt HC Addresses Starting Lineup Changes

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have made recent changes to their starting lineup, including back-to-back games doing so.

Pitt head coach Jeff Capel changed the starting lineup against both Florida State on the road on Jan. 15, an 82-70 loss, and against Clemson at home on Jan. 18, a 78-73 defeat in overtime on Jan. 18.

He placed graduate student guard Damian Dunn in the starting lineup vs. the Seminoles. This marked just the third game back for Dunn and his first start since he underwent surgery on his right thumb and also suffered a right ankle sprain in the loss to then ranked No. 19 Wisconsin Badgers at the Greenbrier Tip-Off in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. on Nov. 24.

Dunn struggled in his first start in almost two months, finishing with just two points, shooting 0-for-8 from the field, while also grabbing just one rebound and making one assists in 31 minutes in the loss.

Capel then put junior forward Guillermo Diaz Graham back into the starting lineup vs. the Tigers, after starting every game previously, except vs. the Seminoles.

He scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds, four on the offensive boards, and led the Panthers with five assists.

Sophomore guard Jaland Lowe and junior forward Cam Corhen are the only two players that have started in all 18 Pitt games so far. Senior guard Ishmael Leggett has started every game, except. vs. Cal on Jan. 1, as he dealt with an ankle injury.

Dunn started the first seven games of the season before his injury. Freshman guard Amsal Delalić started the next two games, a 91-88 overtime road win over Ohio State on Nov. 29 and a 90-57 blowout road defeat to Mississippi State on Dec. 4.

Redshirt senior forward Zack Austin then earned his chance in the starting lineup ahead of their ACC opener, a comeback road win over Virginia Tech on Dec. 7, and he's stayed as a starter since then, nine consecutive contests.

Capel hasn't committed to a starting lineup going forward, but that they placed Diaz Graham back in for Clemson, as they possess great size.

“Yeah that probably will be a thing going forward, a game-by-game thing," Capel said. "Clemson’s very big. 7-foot, 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-10. So we felt like, having Guillermo in there, we felt like at the beginning, it would give us better matchups. So that’s why we did it for that game.”

Pitt won't play midweek, but will travel for their next matchup vs. rival Syracuse on Jan. 25 with a 12:30 p.m. tip-off.

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