Pitt's Young Reserves Starting to Grow Up

The Pitt Panthers are wasting some strong performances from important young pieces.

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers' current three-game losing streak has coincided with a cold streak for its two best players, but despite those struggles, collectively and individually, there have been two big bright spots emerging. 

Both Jaland Lowe and Guillermo Diaz Graham are two Panthers playing their best ball while the team plays some of its worst, a welcome sign as they try to pull themselves out of a skid and out of the basement of the ACC. But as Lowe and Diaz Graham play some of their best ball, it highlights how damaging the struggles of the rest of the roster are going through.  

Diaz Graham has been masterful since stepping into the starting lineup. He averaged 11.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, while shooting 22-of-33 (66.7%) from the field in his five previous games, three of which were starts, entering the North Carolina contest. 

He then proceeded to score 10 points, grab four rebounds and block four shots in 25 minutes of action while contributing to strong post defense on a physical frontcourt led by one of the sport's biggest bruisers in Armando Bacot. 

"We wanted to play post defense early," Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said postgame. "And then we wanted to, especially with Guillermo in the game, we were going to double Bacot when he caught the ball. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. I thought G did a really good job of defending early before he caught the ball, not letting him get deep position."

Diaz Graham took one opportunity to start and ran with it, cementing himself as an everyday starter even as Federiko Federiko, the player he replaced in the starting lineup, shows some much-needed improvement. 

Lowe's steps forward, on the other hand, have been more modest. He's been better despite and the coaching staff is trusting Lowe - who's been the more unheralded player of the two freshmen guards the Panthers brought in this offseason - to do more with his time on the floor. 

He's taking a more clear command of the offense when he's on the floor and his teammates have recognized the need to get him the ball more often in positions to score. 

And Lowe's delivered when his number was called. He entered the Carolina game averaging 18 minutes off the bench, scoring 5.3 points per game and accounting for 3.5 assists and just 0.5 turnovers over his last four games. He racked up 10 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal as against North Carolina. 

It wasn't always sunshine and roses for Lowe, who scored five or more points just twice in his first nine games and averaged 1.8 assists to 1.2 turnovers per game. But as he starts to play better, the Panthers are letting him take on more responsibility - he was the primary ball-handler for most of the second half against the Tar Heels. 

"Phenomenal. I feel like he played good," Carrington said of his fellow freshman point guard. "I feel like he handled the pressure well and kept trying to attack them. I feel like he played really good."

Pitt's veterans are struggling right now. Blake Hinson, the team's leading scorer and unquestioned leader, has missed 27 of his last 38 field goal attempts. Meanwhile, Ishmael Leggett Pitt's young guys are doing their best to pick up the slack 

"We’re starting the ACC and we have a lot of young guys, so I feel like this is lessons we have to start taking and each of these lessons are making us better, you know?" Diaz Graham said following the North Carolina loss. "Because again, we have a lot of young guys so we’re just learning."

But therein lies the problem. Pitt, at this moment, is relying on players far too young to carry them while their biggest stars have gone cold. That's a difficult thing to overcome and unless the Panthers grow up significantly and quickly, they never will. 

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