Jerry DiPaola stories, Page 61

All of a sudden, Pitt basketball is interesting, fun and worth the price of admission. Amazing what a little three-game winning streak can do. Pitt will try to make it four in a row Saturday against Georgia Tech at Petersen Events Center. Tipoff is 7 p.m. on the ACC Network....

The narrative surrounding Pitt before its stunning upset of North Carolina was this: The two-game winning streak was nice, but it’s time to confront the big boys of the ACC. Yes, the Panthers play hard, connect on defense and — thank you, Ithiel Horton — make the opponent respect the...

The noise from a crowd of 17,270 at North Carolina’s Dean E. Smith Center seemed to grow louder every time North Carolina hit a shot in the second half. And the Tar Heels made plenty of them, seven in a row at one point. Who knew the struggling Panthers could...

Time was running out for freshmen to enroll for Pitt’s winter semester, but Marquan Pope wasn’t worried. He had organized the first and final term of his senior year at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, so he could graduate in December, spend the winter training for Pitt’s 2022 season...

If Puff Johnson crashes his 205-pound frame into Pitt’s 280-pound John Hugley on Wednesday night, North Carolina’s sophomore guard probably will be able to handle it. At least Hugley won’t throw Johnson into the bushes when the Panthers and Tar Heels get together at the Dean Dome. That’s how Puff’s...

The passage of time has blurred the truth. DeWayne Brown, who has trained Aaron Donald for the past 13 years, said his protege wasn’t wearing cleats the day he was “killing people” in one-on-one drills at a Pitt camp during summer 2008. Greg Gattuso, the defensive line coach largely responsible...

The ACC has six teams with winning records in league play. That’s fewer than half of the conference members. Four of them show up on Pitt’s schedule over the final 18 days of the regular season, starting Wednesday with the Panthers’ trip to Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., against...

Pitt is taking a step forward in helping its student-athletes manage and profit from name, image and likeness opportunities. University officials announced Monday a partnership with The Brandr Group, a brand management, marketing and licensing agency that counts more than 35 college programs among its clients. “We support our student-athletes...

The mind wanders, wondering what if … • Ithiel Horton had played the entire season for Pitt? • His arrest never happened, and he was able to employ his long- and mid-range marksmanship in those five games that were lost by five or fewer points? Would 10-16 — Pitt’s current...

Conventional thinking might indicate Pitt’s 71-69 victory Saturday against N.C. State would give the team hope. Hope the Panthers can resurrect over the final three weeks what has been a troubling season. Hope the mistakes that made the game closer than it needed to be will disappear. Hope that the...

Long before the Pitt women’s lacrosse team’s historic 9-8 overtime victory against Duquesne on Friday night — the program’s inaugural game — coach Emily Boissonneault sat down to write her pregame speech. This wasn’t just any ordinary talk, though. These words mattered. Boissonneault said she wrote the speech “over and...

The questions on Pitt fans’ lips are these: Was the 56-51 victory at Florida State on Wednesday a product of Pitt finally adhering to coach Jeff Capel’s insistence on defensive focus? Or, was Florida State just that bad? Whatever the case, it was the lowest offensive output by an ACC...

At this embryonic stage of his college career, Ryan Baer might carry the highest profile of the 12 freshmen in Pitt’s class of 2022. That might be difficult to prove. After all, he’s been on campus for just a month and has yet to wear pads. But there’s no doubt...

Ithiel Horton knows what it takes to shoot a basketball through the cords. Eyes on the rim. Feet square. Ball secure. Fire. But there was much more to it Wednesday night when he scored 25 points in his first start of the season, leading Pitt (9-16, 4-10 ACC) to a...

Tiquan Underwood caught three passes for 30 yards for the New England Patriots during the 2011 season. Yet, he was proud to be part of the team the week before Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Then, the day before the game, he got the call: Bill Belichick wanted to see...

If you want to keep up with Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, Damarri Mathis and Cal Adomitis in their quest to reach the next level of football, you need to be willing to travel as much as they do. All three Pitt products have been invited to be among the 324 former...

Jeff Capel and his Pitt basketball team have not been home since Sunday, and they won’t return to campus until Thursday. So, Pitt’s coach probably hasn’t had time to look at the ACC standings. If he did, he’d see Pitt (8-16, 3-10) has fallen into the basement, tied with N.C....

There’s not much time for players and coaches to think about all the problems plaguing Pitt’s basketball team. After another embarrassing effort Monday night turned into a 74-47 loss to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., the Panthers must find a way to regroup in time for another road test Wednesday...

Building a sport from nothing at a major university requires plenty of work and sacrifice. So, Emily Boissonneault happily grabbed a snow shovel Monday morning and began scraping away some of the excess ice that had accumulated on the edges of the turf field at Highmark Stadium. Five minutes later,...

Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke said she has made “lots of progress” toward a contract extension for football coach Pat Narduzzi, who is signed through the 2024 season. “We, hopefully, will have an announcement shortly. We’re close,” she said. Narduzzi was hired in December 2014, as a first-time head coach...

Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke expressed confidence Monday morning that men’s basketball coach Jeff Capel can reverse the team’s fortunes. “I wish we had better news there. It’s tough rebuilding it,” she told a small gathering of reporters at Highmark Stadium. Lyke was there to address the women’s lacrosse team...

A closer look at Pitt’s dramatic — but failed — comeback from a 28-point deficit against Virginia Tech exposes some surprising revelations. It was said through most of this season that Pitt was lacking in the type of quality outside shooting that could ease pressure on center John Hugley. Pitt...

Jeff Capel has been disappointed in his team this season more often than he cares to remember. Saturday night, Pitt’s coach added embarrassment to what he was feeling. But how often does a coach experience both of those emotions — and top it off with a dose of pride? All...

With the contact signed and filed, Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi filled the last vacancy on his coaching staff Saturday, officially naming former NFL player Tiquan Underwood as the Panthers’ wide receivers coach — with a twist. Underwood also will carry the title of pass game coordinator. The hiring of Underwood...

Almost nothing worth mentioning happened during Pitt’s 91-75 loss to Wake Forest on Wednesday night. Double-digit losses are becoming the norm. But it was instructive to hear what sophomore guard Femi Odukale had to say in the aftermath. He offered hope that players still care after 14 losses in 22...