2018 Basketball Prospect Dylan Swingle Impressed With Pitt

It’s no hidden secret. Pitt head basketball coach Kevin Stallings wants to add size to his roster. Coaches often use a slang term referring to a basketball center as a ‘big’. In the case of 2018 center prospect Dylan Swingle, gigantic or behemoth seems far more appropriate. Swingle, the 6-foot-11 inch, 290 pound center from Bainbridge (OH) Paint Valley High School is strongly on the Panthers recruiting radar. The big man recently attended last Friday’s home opener against the Eastern Michigan. Pittsburgh Sports Now spoke with him about his initial impression of the Pitt basketball program.

“Friday was great. All of Pitt’s staff is really friendly and everyone we spoke with are really nice. It was really incredible,” said Swingle. “Everyone was super friendly to us.”

Photo Courtesy- Dylan Swingle

“We had practice early in the morning then we head over to Pitt. We didn’t have that much time prior to the game. The coaches took us around the facilities and I was able to speak with their strength coach and big man coach. We watched a few videos in their offices as well.”

Swingle has yet to receive a scholarship offer but he could be close based on the conversation with the staff. “They said they would like to have me back. They said to me they really need a big and they’re looking at one kid in my 2018 class. I think they offered one center,” he said. “They did say they were really interested and whenever they offers other kids it has no impact on their recruitment of me. I think they said they have two scholarships in my class for big dudes that they want to give out. I could be offered as well.”

“They said they needed size and I could see that as well. They’re a good team but they clearly need a player or two with size. Once they get those players, they could be really scary.”

When asked if the brief visit helped Pitt’s chances, he quickly stated, “Yes, I feel it definitely made an impact on me. I can come in and make a quick impact. I’m not sure I know of any other college that’s offering that right now.”

Swingle continues to work on improving his game and accrue attention from mid to high major basketball programs. “I feel like I’m a back to the basket type of guy. My jump shot is getting better. My mid-range shot is pretty consistent but we continue to extend my range, “he said. “I’m working on conditioning and getting quicker as well.”

“West Virginia, Akron, Xavier and Dayton are calling a lot recently.  Clemson has been up. They have been after me. Ohio University and Bowling Green have recently reached out as well.”

“I like what I saw at Pitt. It’s nice that it’s close to home as well.”

Harry G. Psaros can be found on Twitter at @PittGuru