On Friday, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel updated the status of wing Amsal Delalic at a press conference just days before the season opener.
“He’s getting closer. We’ll have a better idea tomorrow or Monday. He’s getting closer, he’s working hard every day. He still hasn’t done anything 5-on-5. Anything live, he still hasn’t done that yet. Hopefully we’re getting closer.”
With his limited practice time with the team, Capel says its hard to pinpoint what type of role Delalic will have when he returns.
“That’s hard to say now because we haven’t seen him in a few weeks. I know that he’s a good player. I know that he’s a smart player. I know that he has a skill and can really shoot the basketball and he knows how to play and play off of really good players. Will that translate to his role, I don’t know? We expect him to be a good player.
“I understand that when he comes back, it’s probably going to take some time because with his shooting hand — his right hand — he hasn’t done anything. It’s not like you’re going to come back and all of a sudden — when you haven’t been able to use your hand, it’s going to take some ramp up time to strengthen that back up.”
Pitt’s season opener comes on Nov. 4 against Radford at the Petersen Events Center. From when the injury was announced, the opening week of the season would come mark the end of the six-week timeline.
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.”
