Pitt Basketball

The Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team reportedly suspended guard Ithiel Horton one day before Tuesday's season opener against The Citadel.

The Associated Press reported Horton was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. The criminal complaint states he was not happy his car was being towed Saturday morning, attempted to run away as he was being handcuffed and hit a police officer with his cell phone.

Craig Meyer of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Pittsburgh said the indefinite suspension will last "until the legal process has been completed to the satisfaction of the university."

Horton was released on bail.

Meyer noted the Panthers are now shorthanded in the backcourt since Nike Sibande suffered a torn ACL and Jamarius Burton is working his way back from a knee procedure he underwent on Oct. 8 that was expected to keep him out for up to six weeks.

Horton started his collegiate career with Delaware but transferred to Pittsburgh after earning CAA All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman. 

He averaged 8.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.5 steals per game while shooting 38.1 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range last season. The Panthers went 10-12 and missed the NCAA tournament, which they have not made since the 2015-16 campaign.

Pittsburgh plays notable nonconference games against West Virginia, Vanderbilt and Minnesota this season before starting ACC play. The Panthers open the season Tuesday, hosting The Citadel at home.      

The Pittsburgh men's basketball team postponed its Tuesday game against No. 20 Duke after a member of the Pitt organization tested positive for COVID-19, the school announced Monday. 

Pittsburgh coach Jeff Capel tested positive for the virus on Dec. 19, but the team was able to continue as scheduled, per the Associated Press. He missed the team's loss to Louisville on Dec. 22, and the Panthers had no games scheduled between that loss and Tuesday's trip to Duke. 

In an interview with Pittsburgh's 93.7 The Fan, Capel said he had symptoms that were "difficult" to deal with, and he did not think basketball should be played amid the pandemic. 

Capel noted the different COVID-19 protocols among NCAA conferences as part of his reasoning for why he believes the sport should be paused at the collegiate level.

"We’re not getting paid, and when I say we, I mean the players. It’s different to me when you are a professional athlete.  It’s your job and you can make a choice. At the professional level, the rules are the same for each team. The leagues determine what the protocols are. Our protocols are across the board. You have some teams that test every day. You have some teams that test three times a week. You have some conferences that do something different." 

Both Pitt and Duke are in the ACC, which requires that any players or staff members in a program considered to be a high-risk transmission sport—including basketball—are tested three days before a game and again within 48 hours after the game ends and at least three times per week.

The conference follows CDC recommendations for contact tracing and quarantining. 

Capel is not alone in his disdain for continuing the college basketball season. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski called for the NCAA to "reassess" continuing the season amid a rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide (h/t ESPN's Alex Scarborough). 

Duke's women's basketball team chose to cancel its season Friday due to concerns about safety amid the pandemic. The team hadn't practiced or played since Dec. 16, when there were two positive tests within the program. 

A contingent of prominent Pittsburgh sports figures and franchises donated a combined $800,000 to the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research, according to ESPN's Andrea Adelson. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers chipped in $100,000 apiece. Pitt Panthers football coach Pat Narduzzi, men's basketball coach Jeff Capel, women's basketball coach Lance White and athletic director Heather Lyke provided a combined $500,000.

Center for Vaccine Research director Paul Duprex issued a statement on the donation:

"We are stunned by the generosity and support the Pittsburgh community has shown for our center over the past few months, most recently from Pitt Athletics and our local sports teams—the Steelers, Pirates and Penguins. That's the legacy of Jonas Salk on this town. Pittsburgh understands the importance of vaccines, and we're so grateful to be located here, where we can do our work to combat COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, knowing the community is behind us."

Pitt famously played in integral role in the development of the polio vaccine as Jonas Salk started working at the school in 1947 before releasing the vaccine to the public in 1955.

The university announced in February it was collecting samples of the coronavirus for the purposes of exploring a possible vaccine. Pitt's School of Medicine said in April that one experimental vaccine was developing antibodies in mice "thought to be sufficient for neutralizing the virus."

In an op-ed for CNN, Dr. Kent Sepkowitz wrote he doesn't expect a coronavirus vaccine will be completed by the fall based on historical trends and that a January 2021 timetable might be too optimistic as well.

Nearly 3.7 million cases of the coronavirus and more than 258,000 deaths have been confirmed across the world, per CNN. The United States has 1.2 million confirmed cases, roughly one million more than the next closest country, Spain.

Power forward William Jeffress committed to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

The full commitment video can be viewed here.

Jeffress ranks 11th at his position and 58th overall in the 2020 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. The Erie, Pennsylvania, native also received scholarship offers from Baylor, Notre Dame and Penn State.

The Panthers' fortunes on the court cratered following Jamie Dixon's departure for TCU in 2016. They won 24 combined games in two seasons under Kevin Stallings.

However, Jeff Capel appears to be turning the program in the right direction. Nobody expected Pitt to enjoy success overnight, so 14 victories in 2018-19 and 16 in 2019-20 were signs of progress.

With Jeffress on board, Pittsburgh sits 13th in 247Sports' composite team rankings. Assuming that holds, it would be a significant improvement on 2019, when Pitt finished 49th.

Jeffress told 247Sports' Evan Daniels that Capel was the first coach to reach out when the recruiting window opened during his sophomore year.

"We had a 45-minute conversation about me and his vision for the Pittsburgh program," he said. "That really stuck with me for the next two years. Just the unofficials that I got to go on and sitting in his office and talking to him really spoke to me. I feel like it was the right fit. I feel like I said, Pitt was it. When you feel it, you feel it."

Panthers fans haven't had reason to feel optimistic about the team for a few years, but that is beginning to change.

Pitt's leading scorer and rebounder this season was a true freshman (Justin Champagnie), and the next three leading scorers were all sophomores. Add that to Capel's work on the recruiting trail, and a postseason tournament bid should be attainable in 2020-21.

Less than two seasons into his tenure at the University of Pittsburgh, men's basketball head coach Jeff Capel has signed a contract extension.

The school announced Wednesday he has added two years to a deal that will now run through the 2026-27 season.

Capel issued a statement about extending his commitment to the Panthers:

"I am grateful for the commitment Chancellor [Patrick] Gallagher and Director of Athletics Heather Lyke have shown to the Pitt Men's Basketball program and to me. We have outstanding leadership and support at the University of Pittsburgh. I am excited about the direction of our basketball program as we continue to build a sustainable winning culture in the Atlantic Coast Conference. We will continue to give 100 percent of ourselves as we represent Pitt on the court, in the classroom and in the community."

Pitt hired Capel in March 2018 to rebuild the basketball team after it bottomed out with an 8-24 record under Kevin Stallings the previous season.

The Panthers made incremental improvements in Capel's first season, but they still finished 14-19 overall and 3-15 in ACC play.

With a full year under his belt and being able to recruit players who fit his system, the Panthers are 10-4 this season with a chance to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015-16.

Pitt's 2020 recruiting class is off to a solid start with three commitments, including 4-star center John Hugley, per 247Sports.

Given the state of Pittsburgh basketball when Capel came on board, its current standing in the nation's deepest conference speaks to how valuable he's been. The school recognized that performance and ensured the 44-year-old will be a staple of the institution for years to come.