Hours after four-star 2019 power forward Akok Akok took an official visit to Pitt, Panthers head coach Jeff Capel extended another offer elsewhere.
Late Tuesday, Pitt offered 6-foot-8, 220-pound Orangeville (Ontario) Prep power forward Tyrese Samuel, a four-star 2019 recruit. It was actually the second offer from Pitt for Samuel. The LaSalle, Quebec native was originally offered by Kevin Stallings back in May 2017, when he was playing at Wasatch Academy in Utah.
Does Samuel’s offer signify that things didn’t go well with Akok? Not necessarily. Pitt has been heavily involved in a half-dozen big man targets in this class, and it seems likely that they’ll take more than one. Capel is working with at least two scholarships in the 2019 class and does not yet have a commitment.
Samuel is another high-level recruit and is ranked the No. 89 player in the class and the No. 18 power forward by 247Sports composite rankings. There are at least a half-dozen schools hot on Samuel’s trail, led by UConn, which is seemingly going toe-to-toe with Pitt for every big man prospect in the class.
Wake Forest, Kansas State, South Carolina, TCU, Virginia Tech and Wichita State are also involved. So far, Wake Forest is the only school that Samuel has taken an official visit to. He made the trip to Winston-Salem, North Carolina in September. He’s also taken an unofficial visit to Providence.
It doesn’t seem that there is a clear leader for Samuel’s services at this point, meaning there should be plenty of time for Capel and Pitt to make an impression before the early signing period opens on Nov. 14.
