Former Stars Leave Lasting Mark on Pitt Freshmen

The stars of last year's NCAA Tournament team are still mentoring the next generation of Pitt Panthers.

PITTSBURGH -- The stars of the Pitt Panthers' 2023 NCAA Tournament squad stuck around in Pittsburgh long after the season and school year had ended, working out at the Petersen Events Center and preparing for the start of their impending professional careers. 

But even as Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and Greg Elliott prepared for the next stage of their careers, they were helping Pitt's new freshmen guards - Jaland Lowe and Carlton Carrington - get ready for the beginning of theirs while the two generations of Panthers guard shared a gym during the early summer. 

“Those guys, they were around for a good bit," Lowe said. "They taught us a lot. They said anything they could say to help us for this incoming year as freshmen, as new guys coming into the conference and those guys are really great to be around. They don’t have anything against nobody. It’s always fun to learn from them. Those are our big bros for sure."

Lowe and Carrington have a tall task ahead of them. With Burton, Cummings, Elliott and Nike Sibande having graduated, Pitt is without four of its top five scorers and four best guards from a year ago. The young guys - alongside Rhode Island transfer Ishmael Leggett - will have to carry the responsibilities of being primary ball-handlers in high-major college basketball. 

To that end, one of the biggest focuses for the Panthers during the preseason has been testing and training those two freshmen, a process that began when they arrived on campus in May, an unusually early arrival for incoming freshmen, according to head coach Jeff Capel. They drew from Burton, Cummings and Elliott, plus an all-time great Pitt point guard in Levance Fields, who also visited the Petersen Events Center this summer. 

But Carrington and Lowe developed a special relationship with Burton, Cummings and Elliott. Even as that trio headed overseas to begin their professional careers, they've stayed in touch with Lowe and Carrington to offer advice on basketball and how to navigate life in college as a player. 

“Even some of the drills they did together, we stole from them the drills we do now," Carrington said. "They were really our mentors even for the short amount of time they were here. And they made sure they were available for them. I still Facetime these dudes and they’re 17 hours away. We talk all the time and it’s still like a big brother type of thing.”

Capel said Lowe and Carrington will have to put their own work in and extend themselves far beyond what is expected of normal freshmen for the Panthers to be successful. But he's comforted by the relationship they have with Pitt players past and present and believes that will help these talented young guards reach develop quickly. 

"We’re just going to need them to show up every day and try to push themselves and try to get better," Capel said. "But the thing that I think really helps them more than anything is that they have unbelievable teammates and watching how those guys have been with them has been really cool.”

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