John Hugley Could Play for Pitt Against West Virginia

Jeff Capel left the door open for John Hugley to play this weekend for the Pitt Panthers.

PITTSBURGH -- Given the way Jeff Capel talked about the situation following an 80-58 win over UT Martin in the season opener, you'd have thought that John Hugley was a lock not to take the floor for the Pitt Panthers this weekend when they take on West Virginia. 

But Capel left the possibility that Hugley, who suffered a knee injury during the preseason and has been recovering ever since, plays this weekend in the hardwood edition of the Backyard Brawl open. 

“John has been cleared to do non-contact stuff and we’re doing some individual workouts with him," Capel said. "He was able to participate in the shooting today and some five-on-none stuff. We’ll continue to monitor that to see if there’s any swelling or soreness. That’ll most likely be his schedule for the rest of the week and we’ll see what happens after that.”

Hugley would be a massive addition to this team that already looked impressive in the first game of the year against the Skyhawks. He is the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder and demands so much attention after rolling to All-ACC Honorable Mention honors in his first full season of college basketball. 

The Panthers could really use his physicality and gravity against an athletic Mountaineer frontcourt. 

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