Capel: Diaz-Graham Twins Added Nearly 20 Pounds this Offseason

Following their freshmen season, the Diaz-Graham twins had one clear goal entering their sophomore campaign: bulk up.

The twins, natives of the Canary Islands, appeared on the recruiting scene relatively late, taking a post-grad year at IMG Academy in 2020-21. While at IMG in that post-grad season, Pitt took notice of the twins, standing tall and skinny, playing highly-skilled basketball for a great prep program.

The twins eventually committed to Pitt together and each saw the floor quite often as freshmen. Guillermo, the forward, averaged 3.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game in his rookie season. After Federiko Federiko went down with a late-season injury, Guillermo, listed at 205 pounds last season, took on the starting five role in the team’s NCAA Tournament competition. Jorge, listed at 195 pounds, averaged 2.9 points and 2.2 rebounds throughout the year, and played 23 minutes in the NCAA Tournament.

While Jeff Capel has previously referred to Jorge as a guard, he, like his brother wanted to make sure that he would be bigger heading into year two.

As Capel met with the media on Wednesday, he detailed the twins’ offseason routine, saying that they did indeed accomplish their goal.

“They each decided not to play for their national team this summer,” Capel said. “That was a big decision for them. They wanted to stay here and train. They knew that they needed to put on some weight. It’s something they wanted to do for their continued growth and development. Both of them were able to do it. G put on about 20 pounds. I think Jorge is close to 20.”

During the summer, Jorge injured his foot, sidelining him for the Panthers’ international tour in Spain and holding him out of recent practices and workouts. However, he is nearing a return to action now, and Capel says he will return to practice “soon.”

“We know that some of that will come off as he starts to practice,” Capel continued. “He hasn’t done anything with us five-on-five since early July I think. I think that’s when the injury happened. So I know he’ll lose some. But I think they have a great foundation. It was just what they did in the weight room, what they did with our nutritionist. So Vince [Williams], and Jacalyn [Murphy], and the people here did an unbelievable job. Most importantly, those two guys [the twins] did a great job.”

This year, on Pitt’s roster, Jorge is listed at 210 pounds [195 last year], while Guillermo is listed at 229 [205 last year]. Look out for the twins down low in 2023-24.