Jeff Capel: Pitt’s Freshmen ‘Will Have to Grow Up Quickly’

After Damian Dunn went down with an early injury against Wisconsin, Pitt had to pivot, and it looked right to a pair of freshmen.

The Panthers looked to several players in Dunn’s absence, including wing Amsal Delalic, who stepped in and played a season-high 16 minutes of action in the championship atmosphere. He went 4 for 4 from the field, scoring nine points in the loss, and dishing out a crucial assist to Zack Austin in the final minutes of Pitt’s late-game comeback effort. In addition, freshman Brandin “Beebah” Cummings played 13 minutes, grabbing three rebounds and scoring two points. As Pitt now prepares for the next six weeks without Dunn in the lineup, head coach Jeff Capel is ready for those two, as well as others, to step up.

“I think it can accelerate it,” Capel said when asked if this early responsibility can accelerate Delalic and Cummings’ growth. “Beebah has played, but he played more at The Greenbrier. Certainly Amsal played the most minutes he’s played, against Wisconsin. Whether Dame got hurt or not, he was going to see more minutes in that Wisconsin game, in that game, Amsal was. They are going to have to grow up quickly, and we understand that. Our guys have a lot of confidence in them, I have a lot of confidence in them, and we understand that there are going to be some mistakes and some things that we have to live through with those guys.”

Capel then elaborated on what he said about Delalic’s playing time.

“It was two things, it was a matchup thing, that was a big part of it,” Capel said. “But also, I love how he practiced on the day in between [games against LSU and Wisconsin] and then in the shootaround that morning of game day, just his focus, his intensity, all of those things led to where I felt he would have played.”

Dunn had scored in double digits in each of Pitt’s first five games, before getting into foul trouble against LSU and injuring himself against the Badgers. His efforts have been crucial to Pitt’s 6-1 start to the season, on both sides of the ball. As a consistent piece of the puzzle on both sides of the ball, Dunn’s production will be hard to make up for. On Wednesday, Capel spoke about that on the defensive side.

“I think we have to do it collectively as a group,” Capel said about replacing Dunn’s defensive ability. “I don’t know if we have one person that could provide for us what Dame did in that standpoint because Dame is a sixth-year guy, he’s older, he’s played a lot, and he’s been in a lot of experiences guarding perimeter guys. The other perimeter guys that we have in our program right now are freshmen, so I don’t know if we have one person that can step up and do the things, defensively, that Dame was able to provide for us.”

With Damian Dunn out for at least six weeks, #Pitt is going to have to rely on its bench, including Amsal Delalic.

The 21 year-old freshman had a career-high nine points against Wisconsin, as well as a huge assist. He made 82 threes last year in Bosnia at a 40% clip. pic.twitter.com/VSRre44zfO

— George Michalowski (@MichalowskiCBB) November 27, 2024

Pitt Basketball Roster Player Profile: Amsal Delalic

Cummings, Delalic and the Panthers now have an opportunity against Ohio State on Friday, Nov. 29 in Columbus. That game will tip off at 2:30 p.m. est. on Peacock.