2020 Center John Hugley Enjoys His Visit to Pitt

Not only did Pitt play in their first conference game of the season on Saturday, but they also hosted a few recruits on unofficial visits.

One of those players was 2020 center John Hugley (Cleveland, Ohio), who just recently received an offer from Jeff Capel and the Panthers. This was important for the Pitt staff because it was Hugley’s first time visiting Pittsburgh.

Monday afternoon, Pittsburgh Sports Now caught up with Hugley to get his impressions of the day and his thoughts on what he saw and heard from Pitt.

“It was a great. Just being their to watch the game it was a great environment for basketball,” said Hugley. “It was nice to see all the support they got from the fans. To be able to really meet and talk with the coaches it was great. I liked how Coach Capel kept it real. He talked to me about the things that I need to improve on and it was just fun to talk to him. I felt a vibe just talking to him.”

Visiting on the day of a game can sometimes be tricky because coaches are in game mode and can’t spend a ton of time with the recruits. But Hugley still had time for interaction with Capel and his staff.

“I was able to talk with Coach Capel before the game,” he said. “Also, during the game, he still was able to have eye contact with me because I was sitting right behind their bench. After the game is when I really talked with him when we went back to the locker room with the players.

“Coach was telling me how he’s coached pros before and that he can turn me into the player that I need to be and that I can be. He also talked to me about how he believed this would be a perfect environment for me to play in.”

It’s no secret of Pitt’s need and their pursuit of multiple front-court players. This is something that Hugley is aware of and could play a factor down the road.

“I noticed how often Pitt’s offense tried to get the ball to their big men, they touched the ball a lot. That was nice to see because I’m a big and I need touches,” said Hugley. “Plus, knowing now that they need a big opened my eyes about Pitt.”