Pitt Basketball
Damian Dunn Shows Impact After Breaking Shooting Slump

Pitt grad transfer Damian Dunn was brought in during the offseason to supply the Panthers with an experienced veteran and key piece off the bench.
A thumb injury put a dent in his season during the holiday stretch, but he has since returned in early January with the thumb on his shooting hand still wrapped up.
After a cold spell that saw Dunn go scoreless (0-12) from the floor that lasted a game-and-a-half, he poured in three pivotal baskets in the second half that helped Pitt battle back before falling in overtime against Clemson.
“It’s important for us. Certainly important for him, but it’s important for us. He’s an important guy for us,” head coach Jeff Capel said postgame. “He’s still battling back from that injury. Unfortunately, the injury was on his shooting hand on his thumb and you need your thumb to shoot. He’s still trying to work his way back with that and the brace he has to wear to protect it.”
The Panthers trailed by as much as 14 early in the second half against the Tigers. As Pitt started to roar back, Dunn was effective on both sides of the floor. His defensive pressure led to a turnover that translated into offense as he took a feed and Euro-stepped his way to a bucket — his first of the contest.
Moments later, with the energy building inside the Petersen Events Center, Dunn stole an errant Clemson pass, sped down the court before pulling up at the arc and unleashing a three-point shot. As it sank, the Panther faithful exploded with the game evening up at 57-57.
DAMIAN DUNN! WE ARE TIED! @Pitt_MBB pic.twitter.com/7mXb0qRUdE
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) January 18, 2025
“It was great,” Ishmael Leggett said about Dunn’s impact. “I see it every day in practice, so it’s great that you guys get to see it. Damian is going to be a piece we need going forward, so is everybody. For him to get it going and for him to get that energy high, it was great to see.”
Dunn added another driving layup that extended Pitt’s lead by three points with 3:17 left in the game.
“In the first half, I thought we generated some really good looks and some clean looks. We just didn’t make them. He didn’t make some. It was good for us to see him make some shots and make some plays,” Capel said.
While Pitt ultimately fell against the Tigers, Dunn received a much-needed confidence boost.
After missing six games with the thumb injury, Dunn returned off the bench and averaged 11 points a piece against Stanford and Duke. When Jeff Capel looked to mix things up in the starting lineup, he inserted Dunn to make his first start since November against Florida State, but Dunn was shut out from the floor.
The 6-5 guard went 0-for-8 from the floor with two misses from outside. His only two points came from the free-throw line. That carried over to the first half against Clemson as he missed on all four field goals.
Dunn finally fall a shot fall during one of the most important runs of the game against Clemson. In the second half, he hit on 3-of-5 shots for seven points with a triple and two steals.
As Pitt searches to end its current losing streak and if the Panthers want to be a tournament-bound team, Dunn will be relied upon as a key depth scoring presence and defensive disruptor, which showed for a period of time on Saturday.
