Pitt HC Expects High Pick for Bub Carrington

Pitt Panthers head coach Jeff Capel is certain of where star freshman Bub Carrington will be picked in the NBA Draft.

Mar 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Carlton Carrington (7) brings / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The lead-up to Pitt Panthers star Bub Carrington's announcement that he would declare for the 2024 NBA Draft was shrouded in mystery but where he will be selected is much more clear, at least to Carrington's college coach, Jeff Capel.

Capel noted how rare it is for any NBA Draft pick to pass through a college program and, while highlighting how Pitt has been lucky enough to have a couple play for him since he arrived in Pittsburgh, said that he is certain Carrington will enjoy a high draft position later this summer.

"We’ve had two guys since I’ve been here with Mo Gueye and Justin [Champagnie] who are in the NBA or spent time in the NBA, I think Blake [Hinson] is a guy who will be in that league next year," Capel said. "But to have a guy that’s drafted - and I think he’ll be a high draft pick, I know it will be first round - it’s something that’s a huge deal for our program.”

MORE: Pitt's Freshman Star Bub Carrington Declares for NBA Draft

Capel is no stranger to first-round draft picks. He coached 17 of them while he was an assistant at Duke and shared the court with four more when he was a Blue Devils player. But this is a novelty for him at Pitt. Two former Panthers that he has coached have made it to the NBA - Champagnie and Gueye - but neither were drafted, much less

Eight former Pitt players have been selected in the first round of either the NBA or ABA Draft, with the most recent being Cam Johnson in 2018. He graduated from Pitt but finished his collegiate career at North Carolina before the Minnesota Timberwolves selected him with the 11th overall pick in 2019. Johnson was the last lottery pick in program history but Steven Adams was the only one-and-done player in Pitt's record books.

Carrington has a chance to do something special and Capel believes it's almost a foregone conclusion that he will.

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