Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 3
Pitt’s Khadija Faye declares for 2025 WNBA Draft
Pitt women’s player Khadija Faye, who averaged a double-double and was named All-ACC first team this season after transferring from Texas, announced Thursday night her intention to enter the 2025 WNBA Draft. The draft is scheduled for April 14. Faye, who played only one season at Pitt as a graduate...
Pitt notebook: Spring drills offer Panthers opportunity to move past last season’s losing streak
Ryan Baer used the words “embarrassing” and “unacceptable.” Kyle Louis spoke unashamedly of his “missed assignments … missed tackles … many screw-ups” during his All-American season last year at outside linebacker. Eli Holstein, according to Baer, is making clear improvements as a leader at quarterback while “stepping up” his game...
Robert Morris coach, players ready for NCAA Tournament, but many already know what awaits
Andy Toole knows what the next several days will feel like for his Robert Morris players. They’re headed to the NCAA Tournament as Horizon League champions for the first time as a team, and Toole understands the enormity of it all. “They’ll have the best week of their lives,” he...
Important tasks that Pitt’s Jeff Capel must get right lie ahead after deflating loss in ACC Tournament
If you thought life has been tough for Pitt coach Jeff Capel since the first days of the new year, even more difficult issues are on the way. And we’re not talking about unhappy fans. After Pitt lost to Notre Dame on Tuesday in the first round of the ACC...
Pitt bows out of ACC Tournament after 55-54 loss to Notre Dame
Jaland Lowe and Zack Austin spoke through tears Tuesday afternoon inside Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., reflecting on Pitt’s 55-54 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the ACC Tournament. “I’m just hurt, man. I’m just hurt,” said Austin, who played his last game after two seasons at...
Pitt players, coaches carry on after the death of freshman Mason Alexander
Pat Narduzzi opened practice Tuesday in the same manner that marked his 10 previous spring sessions as Pitt’s head football coach. There were the usual calisthentics, drills and meetings on and off the field, but Narduzzi walked around the Beano Cook Fields overseeing the proceedings with a heavy heart. This...
In ACC Tournament opener, Pitt confronts Irish team that still believes it can win, even with losing record
If you thought it was maddening to root for Pitt this season, you should talk to a Notre Dame fan. The Irish (14-17, 8-12) experienced five-, four-, three- and two-game (twice) losing streaks but still found a way to wriggle their way into the ACC Tournament as the No. 12...
Believe it or not, it’s football season and spring drills are set to begin at Pitt
Pitt football’s hopeful journey toward ACC title contention — not just respectability and relevance — began only days after the six-overtime, 4-minute, 38-second loss to Toledo in the GameAbove Sports Bowl. Cell phone at the ready, coach Pat Narduzzi got busy in the transfer portal, bringing in 13 players who...
Analysis: If Pitt can find a way to win, Irish/Tar Heels rematches may be feel-good tonics for disappointing season
For the purposes of advancement in the ACC Tournament, Pitt might have received the least favorable matchup for the first round that begins Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. When league officials unraveled the five-way tie for ninth place, Pitt was seeded 13th — the lowest of the five — and must...
Pitt ends losing streak with 93-67 victory against Boston College
With the pressure off and its spot secured in the first round of the ACC Tournament, Pitt had nothing to lose and only confidence to restore Saturday night while cruising to a 93-67 victory against Boston College at Petersen Events Center. The No. 13-seeded Panthers (17-14, 8-12) will play No....
Duquesne rallies in 4th quarter, but loses quarterfinal round game to Richmond in Atlantic 10 Tournament
The Duquesne women bowed out of the Atlantic 10 Tournament on Friday, losing a 63-58 decision to No. 1 seed Richmond in a quarterfinal game in Glen Allen, Va. But the No. 9 Dukes (19-12) put a scare into the Spiders. Richmond (27-5) took a 49-41 lead into the fourth...
Pitt Take 5: Panthers fail to earn bye in ACC Tournament, will play Tuesday
The Petersen Events Center shuts its doors on college basketball until next fall Saturday when Pitt meets Boston College. Pitt (16-14, 7-12) has won its past two games with the Eagles by 19 and 25 points, but this is not the Pitt team of Blake Hinson and Jamarius Burton. This...
While preparing to honor Pitt’s seniors, Jeff Capel recalls his own special night at Duke
More than anything, the game matters to Jeff Capel, just as much then as it does now. So he is looking forward to Saturday night and celebrating his seniors in the final home game of the season when Pitt plays Boston College at Petersen Events Center. Ishmael Leggett, Zack Austin,...
Duquesne women dominate Fordham, advance in Atlantic 10 Tournament
Duquesne women’s basketball set the tone early Thursday in its second-round game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament and was never challenged in a 79-63 victory against Fordham. The No. 9-seeded Dukes (19-11) held No. 8 Fordham (15-15) scoreless for 7 minutes, 24 seconds of the first quarter and took a...
After 71-63 loss to N.C. State, Pitt’s losing streak reaches 4 for the 3rd time this season
Perhaps the worst part of Pitt’s 71-63 loss at N.C. State’s Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday night wasn’t the deflating reality of the Panthers’ third four-game losing streak of the season. No, it was Pitt allowing the Wolfpack, who had lost nine in a row earlier this season,...
Pitt women bow out of ACC Tournament with loss to Virginia
The Pitt women’s 64-50 loss to Virginia on Wednesday in the first round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., was mainly a matter of the Cavaliers’ playing stingy defense against the Panthers. Center Khadija Faye, named to the All-ACC first team earlier in the week, missed 16 of 19...
Duquesne star Megan McConnell named finalist for national Mid-Major Player of the Year honor
The world of women’s college basketball started noticing Duquesne senior guard Megan McConnell before the season, and now she’s on the threshold of one of the sport’s top honors. McConnell, a Chartiers Valley graduate, is one of the five finalists for the 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year...
Pitt’s Khadija Faye named 1st-team All-ACC in women’s basketball
Graduate student Khadija Faye’s name will stand among the most decorated Pitt women’s basketball players of all-time after she was named Tuesday first-team All-ACC. Faye, a 6-foot-4 center, joins Liatu King (2024) and Brianna Kiesel (2015) as the only Pitt women named first-team All-ACC in basketball. Previously, six players —...
Season isn’t over, but what happens in 2025-26 when Pitt must replace 3 veterans?
Pitt coach Jeff Capel isn’t looking past N.C. State, the Panthers’ next opponent Wednesday night in Raleigh, N.C., and he hopes his players are at the moment setting aside their offseason plans. But in the back of his mind, Capel knows there is plenty of work to do after the...
Struggling Pitt, N.C. State prepare to confront each other, plus a future based on finances
Over the next two weeks, seasons of profound disappointment will end for coaches Jeff Capel of Pitt and Kevin Keatts of N.C. State. Their teams will meet Wednesday at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, N.C., with those men bringing to their benches a combined 27 seasons of head coaching experience....
Analysis: Losing streaks suggest Pitt will need more NIL money to improve basketball program
Perhaps the problems connected to Pitt basketball — football, too, as a matter of fact — are as clear as Jeff Capel’s answer to a question in October on the day Chancellor Joan Gabel first introduced athletic director Allen Greene to the public. Always insightful on matters of college basketball,...
Pitt freshman cornerback Mason Alexander dies in automobile crash
Pitt freshman football player Mason Alexander, 18, died Saturday night after a car crash in his hometown of Fishers, Ind. Alexander enrolled in January after early graduation from Hamilton Southeastern High School, near Indianapolis, and had been participating in winter drills in preparation for spring practice that begins this month....
Pitt shooting goes cold late in loss to No. 19 Louisville
In the aftermath of Pitt’s 79-68 loss at No. 19 Louisville, there will be plenty of positive talk about how the Panthers actually carried a three-point lead into the game’s final seven minutes against one of the ACC’s best teams. Yes, there was a moment or two Saturday night when...
Pitt digs deep into transfer portal, high schools in hopes of rebuilding WR group
Kade Bell’s offense at Pitt calls for plenty of footballs in the air and enough speedy pass catchers with the skill to get open. Failing that, they need to have enough toughness to win 50-50 matchups with defenders. Those athletes who excel in both areas aren’t easy to find. So,...
Analysis: After loss to Notre Dame, Jeff Capel puts Pitt’s collapse into perspective
Jeff Capel made two statements after Pitt’s 76-72 loss at Notre Dame that puts the team’s almost total collapse into sharp focus. They are remarks from a veteran coach that explain how and why Pitt is likely headed toward its sixth postseason in Capel’s seven-year tenure without an NCAA Tournament...
