What Cameron Corhen Brings to Pitt

The Pitt Panthers appear to have found their next starting center.

Dec 21, 2022; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles guard Cameron Corhen (3) shoots / Glenn Beil-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers and head coach Jeff Capel have made their first major addition of the offseason, luring former Florida State sophomore Cameron Cohen to to Pittsburgh out of the transfer portal.

The process from first contact to official visit to commitment was quick and that's likely because Corhen fills a desperately-needed role for the Panthers and looks like the favorite to start at center as the roster currently stands. But what exactly is Pitt getting in the former Seminoles standout?

The measurables paint a pretty clear picture, right off the bat. Corhen stands 6'10 and weighs 225 pounds, automatically making him the second-biggest member of the frontcourt behind only 6'10 and 235-pound rising redshirt freshman, Papa Kante. He plays true to that size and enjoyed a rapid rise from expected reserve to the Seminoles' starting center by the middle of February.

Corhen averaged 9.4 points per game last season and the vast majority of those came from around the rim. 59% of his total field goal attempts and 71% of his made field goals came on dunks or shots "at the rim," according to Barttorvik, and he made those shots at a 75.7% clip.

Corhen played with good guards that helped create easy opportunities through pick-and-roll plays, upon which he averaged 1.45 points per possession (91st percentile in Division I, College Basketball Scouting on YouTube). But he's a fantastic offensive rebounder (9.4% overall and 14.9% against top-50 quality opponents, per Barttorvik) as well and he turns those extra opportunities into buckets with his tremendous athletic ability and toughness finishing through contact.

Adding to the enticing array of offensive moves is his growing comfort with back-to-the basket post moves. Corhen improved those skills dramatically over the course of the season and made them a regular part of his arsenal down the stretch in 2024.

On offense is where Corhen will separate himself the most from the big men that had previously been featured on Capel-coached teams. He wouldn't be the most polished center to have come through the Petersen Events Center over the past six seasons, but he would be one of the best rim finishers of the bunch and that ability to score inside makes him a stark departure from what Federiko Federiko (now in the transfer portal) and Guillermo Diaz Graham have brought to the table over the past two years.

The defensive numbers don't jump off the page. He's at best an average shot-blocker but he cut down his fouling by roughly 20% and raised his defensive box-plus-minus into the positives from his freshman to sophomore seasons. His aforementioned athleticism leaves a high ceiling for growth despite some of the underwhelming metrics and counting numbers.

Corhen is walking into a favorable situation with the Panthers. They have two experienced guards in Ishmael Leggett and Jaland Lowe who will be able to put him in good spots to convert relatively easy scoring opportunities. His pick-and-roll abilities fit well with them and strong offensive rebounders and rim-runners are valuable to any team anywhere.

Given that neither Papa Kante and Amdy Ndiaye have played a minute of college basketball, it's unreliable to expect thateither will be starters or even impact players right away. Corhen, on the other hand, has proven that he is a capable starter at the ACC level, which is why it's reasonable to pencil him in as the starting center for now. Once healthy, Kante could challenge him but for right now, Corhen appears to be the plug-and-play solution for Pitt in the middle.

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• Pitt Basketball Loses Transfer Target to Butler
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• Pitt Lands Florida State Transfer Cameron Corhen
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