One of the biggest by-products of the turnaround of the Pitt men’s basketball program is they’re attracting high level talent seemingly every game.
That will once again be the case for tomorrow’s crucial matchup on Senior Day against Syracuse.
Lincoln Prep superstar Meleek Thomas tells Pittsburgh Sports Now that he’ll be making a return visit to The Pete. Thomas was in attendance for Tuesday’s win against Georgia Tech.
This will be a lot of contact this week between Thomas and the Panthers as last night, Jeff Capel attended his playoff game at Moon High School against South Allegheny.
Thomas (6’3″, 165-pounds) is a 5-star recruit and rated by 247 Sports as the No. 1 point guard and the No. 6 overall player in the Class of 2025.
Earlier this week, Thomas received his latest offer from Villanova to go along with other ones from Pitt, Indiana, Kansas State, Missouri and St. John’s.
It’s become very clear that Thomas along with Imani Christian 2025 5-star center Alier Maluk, are two of, if not the top two players on Pitt’s recruiting board.
Takes more than winning now, it also takes NIL deals. I hope I am wrong, but I don’t think Pitt can compete with the “blue bloods” in NIL opportunities. Capel may have found the recipe for sustainable success in the portal. Bring in a couple high level, under utilized players through the portal each year. And recruit freshmen as able.
Agree and disagree. Football rosters are so much larger. I’m not exactly sure how NIL works, the NCAA was not generous at all during my time. But with basketball rosters being so much smaller I’m guessing it may be easier to manage. Especially for “blue blood,” top shelf local kids. I’m open to correction if I’m wrong about any of it. Respectfully speaking.
Can’t remember a kid out of Western Pa…being this highly ranked. #1 PG in America.
The competition level around here isn’t what it once was, so we rarely have
that highly rated prospects coming out of HS.