Jeff Capel Updates Amsal Delalic’s Status After Hand Injury

On Tuesday night, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel updated the status of Amsal Delalic, who is nursing a hand injury leading up to the season.

“No, I’ll have an update Thursday,” said Capel. “He’ll get checked out again Thursday. I do know the cast is smaller. So he’s able to not do anything, but he can at least catch the basketball now. Hopefully if the appointment goes well on Thursday, he’ll be out of the cast and maybe in a soft splint. Still, I don’t know how much he’ll be able to do with the basketball with his right hand but he’s working and hopefully we have him back for the opener.”

Delalic injured his hand in late September in a practice. He did not dress in Pitt’s exhibition game against Point Park.

Delalic was wearing a cast at Pitt’s open practice last weekend, but continued to work out. He ran up the steps at the Petersen Events Center with Pitt’s head strength and conditioning coach Vincent Williams while the team practiced.

At the time of Delalic’s injury, Capel provided some words on the rookie via a press release.

“Amsal’s injury is a tough setback, but one we certainly expect him to make a full recovery from,” Capel said. “We are excited about what we have seen from Amsal throughout the offseason and eager to have him back at full strength.”

Pitt’s 21-year-old freshman is coming off a season in which he averaged 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in the top Bosnian professional league. He shot an even 40% from three-point range last year, going 82 for 205 from beyond the arch.

Then, this spring, he visited Pitt, and shortly after, committed to the Panthers’ program.

Earlier this summer, in an interview on The Pittsburgh Basketball Show, Delalic broke down his thoughts on European Vs. American basketball.

“In Europe, it’s more like every possession matters, even though it’s the same here in America,” he said. “It’s very strict there. Coaches are very strict with what they want. You have to put everything aside and you literally have to be for the team. There are some great individual players in Europe, but mostly it’s team-first.”

Pitt is heading into year seven of the Jeff Capel-era, coming off a second-straight 20-win season. The Panthers finished last year 22-11, but said goodbye to stars Bub Carrington (Washington Wizards) and Blake Hinson (Golden State Warriors) as they went off to the professional level. In addition, the Panthers said goodbye to Federiko Federiko (Texas Tech) and William Jeffress (Louisiana Tech), as both players transferred out this past spring. Pitt returns key players Jaland Lowe, Ishmael Leggett, and Zack Austin, among others. The staff also brought in a talented group of newcomers, headlined by transfers Cam Corhen (Florida State) and Damian Dunn (Houston) as well as freshmen Brandin “Beebah” Cummings, Amdy Ndiaye, and Delalic.