Inside The Panthers

Pitt Misses on Two Transfer Portal Guards

The Pitt Panthers will have to look elsewhere after El Ellis and D.J. Horne committed to different schools.
Stephen Thompson|
Pitt Misses on Two Transfer Portal Guards
Pitt Misses on Two Transfer Portal Guards

In this story:

Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have been recruiting guards out of the transfer portal heavily this offseason after losing the top four members of their backcourt to graduation following the end of this season. 

But the Panthers have now missed out on two transferring guards who were recruited by the Panthers before picking other schools. Arizona State transfer D.J. Horne is headed to the ACC, but will play for NC State instead of Pitt. Hours later, Louisville transfer El Ellis announced that he would leave the conference and play for Arkansas while continuing to try his luck in the NBA Draft. 

6'1, 175-pound Horne drew interest from Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, Arkansas, Iowa State, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, NC State, LSU, Wake Forest and Washington State after finishing last season as the Sun Devils' second-leading scorer (12.5 points per game) and assister (2.4 assists per game) while making 35.5% of his 3-point attempts. This is the third school of his college career after stops at Illinois State and Arizona State. 

Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Creighton, Oregon, Florida, Georgia, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Ohio State and UCF were also interested in Ellis. An All-ACC Honorable Mention in 2023, he took big strides forward in his second year at the Division I level after transferring to Louisville from Tallahassee Community College. He averaged 17.7 points and 4.4 assists per game for the Cardinals, who muddled through one of the worst seasons in program history under first-year head coach Kenny Payne.

The Panthers have three scholarships to work with this offseason after losing John Hugley and Nate Santos to the portal and adding High Point transfer Zack Austin last week. 

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and so much more!

Five Pitt Players Selected in Seven Round Mock Draft

Pitt Transfer John Hugley Schedules New Official Visit

Five Takeaways from Pitt's Spring Game

Three Biggest Winners from Pitt Spring Game

Pitt's Players, Coaches React to Spring Game

Late 'Pick 12' Lifts Pitt Defense over Offense in Spring Game

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published
Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper.  He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press.  During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general.  You can reach Stephen by email at stephenethompson00@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter. Read his latest work:

Share on XFollow stephenethom
Home/Basketball