It's difficult to project who will be starting and who will be coming off the bench this early on, but let's dive in and check out the talent that Pitt has, with one open scholarship remaining for the upcoming season.
Jared Wilson-Frame, Senior
Wilson-Frame represents an interesting case for Jeff Capel as we enter Year One of the Capel Era. During the 2017-18 basketball season, Wilson-Frame was Pitt's leading scorer, posting 13 points per game despite shooting just a .375 field goal percentage, which ranked eighth on the team among players with at least three shot attempts per game. Still, Wilson-Frame's 11.8 shots per game led the team.
Kevin Stallings often noted that he gave his players a lot of freedom on offense to play their game, and that no doubt contributed to an older, more experienced player like Wilson-Frame getting his fair share of the team's shots compared with the cohort of true freshmen on the team in 2017-18.
With Capel coming in, bringing in some key recruits, and introducing what figures to be a more structured offense, it will be interesting to follow the impact on Wilson-Frame's game and his use over the course of the season. At 6'5" and one of the taller members of the roster, it would not be a surprise to see him played at the small forward position at times next season.
Sidy N'Dir, Graduate Transfer
N'Dir, who is transferring to Pitt from New Mexico State, will be a welcome addition to the 2018-19 squad. The 6'2" guard brings with him veteran leadership and NCAA tournament experience, having played on the Aggies' 28-win, WAC conference champion team this past season.
Underrated as an offensive performer, N'Dir was off to a blazing hot start to his 2016-17 season before a foot injury forced him to miss the rest of the season from December onward. Putting up nearly 14 points per game on a .494 field goal percentage, N'Dir was New Mexico State's leading scorer before the injury.
He returned in 2017-18 to put up decent numbers, though he didn't return to the levels of success he had reached a season earlier. Of course, having played in the WAC, N'Dir did not often face the level of competition that he will see in the ACC. Still, he brings a strong defensive profile with offensive upside, and some much needed veteran leadership to a team that still figures to be one of the youngest in the conference.
Malik Ellison, Redshirt Junior
At 6'6", Ellison is in the same boat as Wilson-Frame in that he's likely to spend some time at the small forward position this season. As a guard at St. John's prior to his transfer, though, Ellison put up decent if uninspiring numbers, finishing fifth on the team in scoring in 2016-17.He showed flashes of excellence that season, putting up strong numbers against teams like Penn State and Syracuse, and was frequently praised by Stallings last season as being the best player on the floor in practice.
In 2018-19, Ellison will provide some much needed length on a rather small team, but without ever having seen him play in the ACC, it is difficult to project just how he will fit into the picture for playing time.
Khameron Davis, Sophomore
Davis was about as unknown a prospect as you'll find when he committed to Pitt in 2017, and he showed flashes of talent on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively was another story. Despite putting up decent numbers during non-conference play, Davis struggled mightily against ACC opponents, shooting just .318 from the field and scoring 3.1 points per game in 25 minutes per game.With the addition of guards Trey McGowens, Xavier Johnson, and N'Dir, Davis figures to see less playing time next season than he did in 2017-18. He can still provide value defensively, and figures to continue to develop offensively as a true sophomore.
Trey McGowens, Freshman
McGowens' signing represented an early triumph in the Capel tenure at Pitt, as well as the birth of a great rallying cry in #ZooEra. Ranked as the number 89 overall recruit in the country by 247sports, McGowens is Pitt's most highly ranked recruit since Steven Adams in 2012.Most impressively, it took Capel just eight days to reel McGowens in, despite McGowens' never having seen Pitt's campus prior to committing. McGowens is a combo guard, and it's hard to say just where he will play more in 2018-19. Regardless of which position he plays next season, he figures to get a lot of playing time as a true freshman, and will be extremely exciting to follow as he starts his Pitt career.
Xavier Johnson, Freshman
Much like McGowens, Johnson's signing with Pitt provided a jolt of excitement to the fanbase. Johnson, a three-star point guard from Virginia, will give the Panthers immediate reinforcement in the backcourt in the form of a high-upside talent.Johnson will likely see a lot of time on the floor in 2018-19, especially given that he is a true point guard, something that Pitt otherwise lacks on the roster among a flurry of combo guards. Johnson has been very vocal on Twitter about his excitement to join the Panthers, and as one of Capel's earliest recruits, his presence will be prominently felt next season, no matter how many minutes he gets.
Curtis Aiken, Jr., Freshman
Aiken is another fascinating case in that he passed on scholarship offers at Division-I schools to attend Pitt as a preferred walk-on. Aiken first received a scholarship offer from Pitt in 2015 by then-coach Jamie Dixon, who again offered Aiken once he took the head coach position at TCU in 2016.
Despite a three-year courtship by Dixon, Aiken saw the allure of Capel and the bright days ahead for Pitt basketball and followed in his father's footsteps--Aiken Jr. is the son of former Pitt star guard Curtis Aiken Sr., who led Pitt guards in scoring in 1986-87.
A talented guard coming off of injury problems during his high school career, Aiken is unlikely to see significant playing time in 2018-19, and might be destined for a redshirt as a non-scholarship player.
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