Pitt signs 6-foot-4 guard Omari Witherspoon to letter of intent
Jeff Capel ventured into a fertile area for basketball talent and was rewarded when Omari Witherspoon signed a letter of intent to play for Pitt.
Witherspoon, a 6-foot-4, guard, plays at St. John’s College Prep in Washington D.C.
“That’s an area that we want to try and recruit,” Capel said of the DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia). “The DMV area is one of the best hot beds of basketball in the country.”
Capel said Witherspoon brings the length, skills and attitude he seeks in his players.
“I like his size. I like his ability to do things with the basketball in his hands but (also) to play without the basketball,” Pitt’s coach said. “I love his competitive spirit. I love his versatility defensively and the fact that he took pride in defense; just saw him continue to get better and better.
“Loved his work ethic. Loved who he is as a young man as we got to know him more. Love the fact that he’s a late bloomer. Loved the fact that nothing has ever been given to him. He’s earned it. There’s a toughness and competitiveness to him. The main thing is he fit us, and we fit him. He and his family felt it on the visit.”
Witherspoon had 30 scholarship offers and chose Pitt over his three finalists that included Maryland and Vanderbilt.
He is rated a four-star prospect by 247Sports and jumped from No. 191 in the nation to No. 104 playing this summer on the Under Armor circuit with the DC Premier U17 team. He averaged 14.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 16 games.
“I never pay attention to what a kid is ranked,” Capel said. “I stopped doing that a while ago. There was a time when I was a head coach before that I was maybe caught up in that, caught up in trying to win recruiting rankings. I trust my eyes before I trust anyone else’s.”
Pitt guard Ishmael Leggett is also a product of St. John’s College Prep.
“That’s my guy,” said Leggett, who was a senior there when Witherspoon was in eighth grade. “Can’t wait to introduce him to Pittsburgh.”
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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