Recruiting Notes - Monday, November 11th, 2019

   As Pitt prepares to face Robert Morris and move on from a tough loss to Nicholls State on Saturday, there is no shortage of news from the recruiting trail as Jeff Capel's staff continues to pursue the players that they hope will ultimately bring Pitt back to national relevance as a basketball powerhouse.

• During his Twitter Tuesday mailbag post from last week, Corey Evans of Rivals.com suggested that the completion of Pitt's 2020 class is likely to come from graduate transfers, junior college prospects, or decommitments.
• Reading between the lines, that likely means that Pitt is probably no longer in the running for five-star wing Josh Hall, who it had previously been reported might take an official visit to Pitt before making his college decision this month. We will keep you posted with any updates on Hall, who seems to be very high on NC State.  
• The other nugget in his blurb about Pitt is that Pitt might receive an official visit from recent Michigan State decommit Jalen Terry, from Flint, Mich. I have not seen much of anything specifically linking Terry with Pitt, but Evans is a pretty plugged-in recruiting analyst, and it's a good bet that Pitt is at least in touch with Terry if Evans is suggesting that Pitt might get an official visit. Terry just visited Chris Mack and Louisville this past weekend.
• Moving onto 2021 targets, Bryce McGowens, the younger brother of Trey McGowens, took an unofficial visit this weekend, and it was his third visit to that particular school:

  Georgia is hosting Top-50 junior Bryce McGowens for an unofficial visit today, a source told @Stockrisers. The third unofficial visit to UGA for him.

  — Jake (@jakeweingarten) November 9, 2019

• Visiting a school for a third time is a big deal for any recruit, and since McGowens is already a junior in high school, odds are that he is seriously considering Georgia as a potential landing spot. I would venture a guess that they may even be the favorite for McGowens at this point.
• Of course, the younger McGowens also visited Pitt the weekend of Oct. 26, and took a trip to Clemson on Nov. 5, and his recruitment is very clearly still open. Especially with his older brother playing for Pitt, I suspect that the Panthers will be a key player in the junior guard's recruitment.

  2021 4⭐️ SG Bryce McGowens on an unofficial visit to Pitt today.🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/KhbMlh40KP

  — Pitt.MBB (@PittHoopsMBB) October 26, 2019

• Another top 2021 target, center Adama Sanogo, spent the weekend at Seton Hall according to Adam Zagoria: 

  Class of 2021 @tps_hsbb F Adama Sanogo is also here at @SetonHallMBB. Major target for the Pirates pic.twitter.com/dauBYAbG0M

  — Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) November 9, 2019

• Seton Hall will surely be a major player for Sanogo in the class of 2021, but the impressive center has also received offers from Connecticut, Marquette, Oregon, Xavier, and TCU, among others. If Pitt winds up landing Sanogo, it won't come without fighting off several other high-majors.
• 2021 center Micawber Etienne has also started taking college visits, and the Connecticut native seems to be focusing on Big East programs, having visited Marquette (official), Connecticut, and Providence within the past month:

  Recruiting Update: After unofficially visiting @UConnMBB last weekend, 2021 Big Man Mac Etienne (@Micawber_e) of @Suffield_Hoops & @PSACardinals is on an unofficial trip @PCFriarsmbb today.@Micawber_e took an official visit @MarquetteMBB back on Oct. 5th for #MarquetteMadness. pic.twitter.com/tC74KEKq0Z

  — BIG EAST BUCKETS (@BIGEAST_BUCKETS) October 16, 2019

• The Big East is still a really solid basketball conference, and Etienne appears to have serious interest in playing his college career with a Big East school. We'll see if Capel and Pitt can garner some interest for 
• Finally, two potential Pitt recruits were on hand for the game on Saturday: 2022 prospect Issac McKneely from Poca, W. Va., and 2023 prospect Rodney Gallagher from Uniontown, Pa.:

  Unofficial visit at Pitt today👀 pic.twitter.com/7v6t3i02YT

  — Isaac McKneely (@IsaacMcKneely) November 9, 2019

• McKneely, a sophomore at Poca High School, has already received multiple Division-I offers including from Davidson, Marshall, Robert Morris, and Stetson. 
• Gallagher, a freshman at Laurel Highlands High School, has also received Division-I attention early in his high school career, as he received an offer from Illinois in July before the start of his freshman year. 
• Gallagher is also a talented football player for Lauren Highlands, and was listed among the top wide receivers in Pennsylvania's class of 2023 by Rivals' PaPreps site. Who knows, maybe we'll see him get equal attention from both Capel and Pitt football head coach Pat Narduzzi.

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