Inside The Panthers

Pitt Slotted in ACC's Fourth Tier

TheScore's Matthew Winick has the Pitt Panthers in a fourth tier all by themselves.

Stephen Thompson

Pitt Slotted in ACC's Fourth Tier
Pitt Slotted in ACC's Fourth Tier /
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PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers suffered a lot of offseason attrition this past summer, leaving some questioning if they'll be able to replicate last season's success. 

TheScore college basketball insider Matthew Winick has slotted the Panthers in his fourth tier of ACC teams all by themselves, making them the defacto No. 12 team in the conference. Only Notre Dame, Boston College and Louisville - who finished last season with a combined record of 14-46 - are ranked lower than Pitt. 

He also pegged super senior forward Blake Hinson as a second-team All-ACC player, just like he was last season and ranked the Panthers as the No. 69 team in all of Division I this coming season. 

Winick has predicted Jaland Lowe, Ish Leggett, Zack Austin, Blake Hinson and Guillermo Diaz-Graham will start, with Federiko Federiko, Will Jeffress, Carlton "Bub" Carrington and Jorge Diaz-Graham as the primary bench pieces. Diaz-Graham replacing Federiko in the starting lineup is the only thing that really counts as a surprise in those projections. 

Pitt is replacing a boatload of talent and scoring production from last year's NCAA Tournament squad. With four of their top five scorers having graduated, the Panthers hope transfers Austin and Leggett, along with the additions of four-star freshmen point guards Lowe and Carrington and improvements from returners Hinson,  Federiko,  Jeffress and the Diaz-Graham twins will cover for those losses. 

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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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