Brandin Cummings jumps off bench, vaults into vital role in Pitt's quest to reach NCAA Tournament

For most of this season, Pitt sat just outside the group of four or five elite teams in the ACC. Eighth place in the 18-team conference — which is where the Panthers (16-10, 7-8) stand at the moment — feels about right.

But that’s not the goal, and now that ESPN’s Joe Lunardi ignores the Panthers completely in his most recent NCAA Tournament bracketology, Pitt won’t be at its best for the final five games of the regular season and the ACC Tournament. Senior guard Damian Dunn, who started 12 games when healthy and averaged 9.9 points, fractured his elbow Feb. 8 at North Carolina and is lost for the season.

That’s a big loss in terms of scoring and leadership, but it’s also the cue for freshman Brandin Cummings — six months short of his 20th birthday — to step up and make a difference.

Coach Jeff Capel liked what he has seen recently of Cummings, a Lincoln Park product who is averaging 6.4 points and 15.3 minutes (but 11.3 and 26.6 the past three games).

“He’s fearless. He’s competitive. He gives us another ball-handler,” Capel said.

A perfect example of what Capel means surfaced in the second half of the Syracuse game Tuesday night.

Pitt had fought back from a 16-point deficit in the first half and another one of 11 early in the second. The Panthers were up 63-59 with 6 minutes, 48 seconds left, but the lead did not appear especially safe.

That’s when Cummings drove toward the rim, scored, was fouled and completed the three-point play. Fearlessness, competitiveness and ball-handling all in one play. Syracuse got no closer than six points as Pitt prevailed 80-69.

Capel has carefully monitored Cummings’ playing time, largely in deference to his inexperience and how difficult it’s been to take out guards Dunn, Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett. Now, the coach has no choice, but he believes Cummings is ready for more minutes.

“I’ve been doing this for a while now. I’ve coached some really, really good freshmen as a head coach and as an assistant coach,” Capel said. “Most freshmen, even the great ones, even the (Blake) Griffins and the Jabari Parkers and the Jayson Tatums (players he coached at Oklahoma and Duke), they normally hit a wall the first or second week in January. It takes a little bit because all of this is new, the speed, the physicality, the attention to detail, how hard you have to work.

“I thought Beebah (Cummings) hit that wall, and I think he’s battled through it. He’s played really well the past two games. He has the respect and trust of his teammates and certainly us as coaches. We look forward to helping him to continue to try to get better.”

Beyond Cummings, Pitt also received contributions from Guillermo Diaz Graham, who recovered from a scoreless performance against Miami — his third of the season — to record eight points and a game-high eight rebounds in the Syracuse game.

Capel gushed that Diaz Graham gave up “80 pounds” to Syracuse big man Eddie Lampkin Jr., even though it was probably closer to 40 or 50. But the coach made his point.

“His impact on the game was significant in a lot of different areas,” Capel said. “He fought to keep basketballs alive. He earned the playing time and put me in a position where I really didn’t want to take him out.”

That’s what Pitt needs: players not named Lowe and Leggett to help stack victories in the important final 2 1/2 weeks of the regular season.