Inside The Panthers

Jon Rothstein Ranks Pitt Ninth in ACC

CBS analyst Jon Rothstein expects the Pitt Panthers to regress this coming season.

Stephen Thompson

Jon Rothstein Ranks Pitt Ninth in ACC
Jon Rothstein Ranks Pitt Ninth in ACC /
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PITTSBURGH -- The start of the 2023-24 college basketball season is still more than four months away and the beginning of conference play is even further out, but that didn't stop CBS Sports analyst Jon Rothstein from offering his early look at how the ACC will shake out and where the Pitt Panthers stand heading into the dog days of summer. 

Rothstein ranked Pitt ninth in his early ACC power rankings, trailing Duke, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia, Clemson, Virginia Tech, NC State and Florida State, who were his top eight in that order. The rest of his rankings went in this order from No. 10 to 15 - Syracuse, Louisville, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Boston College and Notre Dame. 

Rothstein also offered a prediction for Pitt's starting lineup. He believes it will be Rhode Island transfer Ishmael Leggett, redshirt freshman Dior Johnson, High Point transfer Zack Austin, super senior Blake Hinson and junior center Federiko Federiko who make up the Panthers' top five. 

Pitt landed one player - 2023 all-conference second-teamer, Hinson on Rothstein's early First-Team All-ACC predictions.

None of these Panthers landed on his 10 Breakout Players list, but Jaland Lowe and Johnson made his 10 Impact Freshmen list and Leggett was tabbed as one of 10 Under the Radar transfers. 

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

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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:

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