Pitt Forward Believes in Turning Season Around

A Pitt Panthers player has faith that his team will play better.

Dec 30, 2023; Syracuse, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Jorge Diaz Graham (31) shoots the ball against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images / Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers have had a poor showing this past month, which has seen their season trend downwards quickly.

The Panthers have lost their last two games and six of the past eight games in the last 31 days, which includes a four game losing streak.

Pitt suffered a blowout 76-47 defeat to then ranked No. 4 Duke on the road on Jan. 7, a close 82-78 defeat to Louisville at home on Jan. 11, ending a 15-game winning streak at the Petersen Events Center, a road loss, 82-70 to Florida State on Jan. 15 and a loss at home to Clemson, 78-75 in overtime on Jan. 18.

They got back to winning ways, with back-to-back wins over Syracuse on the road, 77-73 on Jan. 25, and vs. North Carolina at home, 73-65 on Jan. 28.

Pitt then dropped a close, 76-74 defeat to Wake Forest on the road on Feb. 1 and would play their worst game of the season, losing to a below .500 Virginia team, 73-57 at home on Feb. 3.

The Panthers went from a team that would make it back to the NCAA Tournament to a team that is dropping down the NET Rankings and off of bracketologists' recent projections for the postseason.

One player who had a solid game, despite the embarrassing loss to the Cavaliers, was Panthers junior forward Jorge Diaz Graham.

Diaz Graham came off the bench and scored nine points, shooting 3-for-6 from 3-point range in 22 minutes. He also grabbed four rebounds and made a steal and a block too.

Pitt, as a team, shot 41.9% from the field and 30% from 3-point range vs. Virginia, ranking fifth worst and tied for fourth worst in a game this season, respectively.

Diaz Graham still believes in his teammates shooting the ball going forward and that they just need to find the right shots more consistently.

“I think we need to get better shots, but I believe in everyone of my teammates to make shots and even if they’re not making it, just keep shooting, just keep believing and keep fighting," Diaz Graham said.

Diaz Graham pointed to the 17-0 run they allowed, that extended to 23-3 early on in the first half that doomed the Panthers vs. the Cavaliers. He also believes that they are a good team and that they just need to show it going forward.

“I think we got hit in the first half and we never recovered from that," Diaz Graham. "I think our body language wasn’t right, since the beginning and I think we gave up. But we need to learn from this and this has to be that changes the season and I believe there’s still time. I believe we’re a good team. We just need to keep fighting together and just be that team we are.”

Diaz Graham suffered an ankle injury last season and chose to undergo surgery, leading him to miss the last 16 games. He also underwent surgery in late May 2024 to repair a core muscle injury that put him out another eight weeks.

He is averaging 3.5 points, 0.9 rebounds and 7.5 minutes per game in 22 contests this season, while shooting 57.6% from behind the arc and 59.5% from the field.

Diaz Graham is confident that they'll turn the season around, but that they have to come together right now before it's too late.

“We just need to learn from it and take it all in and just learn and just keep fighting. Nobody’s going to stop. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We just have to get together as much [as possible]. We can not separate and then speak together, keep fighting as a group and just overcome this tough stretch.

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