Preview: Pitt Basketball Season Arrives

The Pitt Panthers open their season against the Radford Highlanders.

Mar 15, 2024; Washington, D.C., USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Jaland Lowe (15) dribbles the ball as North Carolina Tar Heels guard Elliot Cadeau (2) defends in the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers will begin the 2024-25 season, as they face off against Radford, with a 7 p.m. tipoff on Nov. 4 at the Petersen Event Center.

Traveling from Radford, Va., the Highlanders are looking to bounce back from a down season in which they finished 16-17 overall and a 5-11 record in the Big South -- good for eighth overall in the conference.

Head coach Darris Nichols is heading into his fourth consecutive year at Radford. Nichols brings a roster with eight players that are seniors or older and two more juniors, meaning the Panthers will go up against an experience-laden group for their season opener.

Even with that experience, the Highlanders have several large voids to fill as they've lost their top four scorers and their top rebounder from last season.

Guard DaQuan Smith, who led the team with 14.8 points per game, as well as guard Bryan Antoine and forward Chandler Turner exhausted their eligibility.

Both guard Kenyon Giles, who averaged 14.3 points per game, and forward Justin Archer, who averaged 7.9 rebounds per game, transferred out of the program to UNC Greensboro and Georgia State, respectively.

Senior guard Truth Harris is a player for Pitt to watch out for, as the Mount Vernon, N.Y. native has shot 36.5% from beyond the arc over his career. Harris appeared in 29 games for the Highlanders last season and should see a large uptick in minutes this campaign.

The other productive Radford returner is senior forward TJ NeSmith, who averaged 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. The Burlington, N.C. native received interest from several division one schools in 2023 before deciding to transfer to Radford, so the six-foot nine-inch, 220-pound NeSmith could pose a real problem for the Panthers who've had shaky interior defense in previous seasons.

Pitt picked up transfer junior forward Cameron Corhen from Florida State in the off-season -- a true paint presence that might be the answer for NeSmith in this matchup

Radford played against two different ACC opponents last season in North Carolina, putting up an impressive showing in the 86-70 defeat, and against then ranked No. 18 Clemson on Dec. 29, suffering a blowout, 93-58.

The problem for the Highlanders is that all five starters against the Tar Heels and four starters vs. the Tigers, don't play for the program anymore.

Pitt is facing a true wildcard in Radford for their season opener. Although Radford brings players with experience in years, few players bring much career production.

With not much film on this iteration of the Highlanders, the home fans can hope that head coach Jeff Capel, who starts his seventh season at the helm, has his Panthers ready to play.

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