Pitt HC Gives Update on Ish Leggett Injury

Pitt Panthers head coach gave an update on Ish Leggett's injury.

Dec 11, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Ishmael Leggett (5) brings the ball up court on a fast break against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers head coach Jeff Capel didn't have senior guard Ishmael Leggett in their ACC home opener win, 86-74 over Cal at the Petersen Events Center on New Year's Day.

The program announced prior to the game that Leggett would miss the matchup with the Golden Bears with a lower body injury. He sat on the bench in street clothes, but didn't wear any brace or cast.

Capel spoke after the game and said that they found out at around 12:15-12:30 p.m., just an hour and half before the 2:00 p.m. tip-off, that Leggett wouldn't play.

He also said that Leggett suffered the injury in practice back on Dec. 28, when he stepped on sophomore guard Jaland Lowe and rolled his ankle.

Leggett missed the last two practices and when he did his workout in warm-ups to see if he could comeback that's when Capel and the team knew he wouldn't play.

“We thought that he wouldn’t, but then there was a chance," Capel said. "He got hurt Saturday in practice. He stepped on Jaland’s foot and rolled his ankle and so he hasn’t practiced since Saturday. We were off Sunday. He didn’t practice Monday or Tuesday, but there was a chance, so he worked out, probably around, little bit around noon and it was in that workout that we knew he wouldn’t be able to go. 

"He’s fine straight ahead, but laterally, pushing off, he couldn’t do that. So that’s when we knew for sure that he wouldn’t be able to play."

Capel also said that he'll "wait-and-see" if Leggett will play in their next matchup at home vs. Stanford on Jan. 4.

Leggett played his first three seasons of college basketball with Rhode Island, with 71 starts in 88 contests. He averaged 27.3 minutes, 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steals per game, while also shooting 39.3% from the field, 33.2% from 3-point range and 78.1% from the foul line.

His best season with the Rams came in 2021-22, when he averaged 34.6 minutes, 16.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.3 assists per game. He also shot 38.7% from the field, 31.8% from behind the arc and 84.2% from the free throw line.

Leggett had a fantastic junior year with the Panthers, winning the 2023-24 ACC Sixth Man of the Year Award. He played in all 32 games, but started just 14 contests, coming off the bench for the final two months of the season, allowing him to earn that honor.

He averaged 12.3 points and 1.9 assists per game led the Panthers with 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game, while also shooting 42.7% from the field, 34.9% from 3-point range and 85.9% from the foul line last season.

Leggett earned preseason All-ACC Second Team honors heading into this season and has had another great campaign for the program.

He leads the team with 17.5 points per game and ranks second with 33.5 minutes played, 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He is also shooting 51.3% from the field, 32.7% from 3-point range and 74.5% from the foul line.

This was the first game that Leggett missed this season and just the second he's missed for the Panthers in his two seasons with the program.

Pitt had two of their guards out vs. Cal, as graduate student guard Damian Dunn missed his sixth consecutive game, undergoing surgery on his right thumb after injuring it against Wisconsin in the Greenbrier Tip-Off back on Nov. 24.

The Panthers had freshman guard Brandin "Beebah" Cummings step in for Leggett for his first collegiate start. He scored 15 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3-point range and 2-for-3 from the foul line, while grabbing four rebounds and making three assists in 38 minutes in the win over the Golden Bears.

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