2017–18 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers were led by second-year head coach Kevin Stallings and played their home games at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2017–18 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
2017–18 record	8–24 (0–18 ACC)
Head coach	Kevin Stallings (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Tom Richardson (2nd season) Kevin Sutton (2nd season) Jeremy Ballard (2nd season)
Home arena	Petersen Events Center (Capacity: 12,508)

2017–18 ACC men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Virginia †	17	–	1		.944			31	–	3		.912
No. 9 Duke	13	–	5		.722			29	–	8		.784
No. 22 Miami (FL)	11	–	7		.611			22	–	10		.688
No. 20 Clemson	11	–	7		.611			25	–	10		.714
NC State	11	–	7		.611			21	–	12		.636
No. 10 North Carolina	11	–	7		.611			26	–	11		.703
Virginia Tech	10	–	8		.556			21	–	12		.636
Florida State	9	–	9		.500			23	–	12		.657
Louisville	9	–	9		.500			22	–	14		.611
Notre Dame	8	–	10		.444			21	–	15		.583
Syracuse	8	–	10		.444			23	–	14		.622
Boston College	7	–	11		.389			19	–	16		.543
Georgia Tech	6	–	12		.333			13	–	19		.406
Wake Forest	4	–	14		.222			11	–	20		.355
Pittsburgh	0	–	18		.000			8	–	24		.250
† 2018 ACC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The Panthers entered the season as one of the most inexperienced teams in NCAA Division I. ESPN's Andrea Adelson summed up the team's situation in a February 2018 piece:

Both he [Stallings] and those inside the program prepared for a rocky 2017–18: They had an NCAA-high 11 newcomers, zero returning starters and three total players with NCAA Division I experience on the roster when camp opened. That is not merely rebuilding; that is starting over with nothing to build off.[1]

They finished with the worst season in program history, going 8–24 overall and 0–18 in ACC play, finishing dead last in the conference and losing in the first round of the ACC Tournament to Notre Dame. On March 8, 2018, Pitt fired Stallings.[2] On March 27, Pitt hired Duke assistant coach Jeff Capel as head coach.[3][4]

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2016–17 season 16–17, 4–14 in ACC play to finish in a tie for 13th place. They defeated Georgia Tech in the first round of the ACC Tournament to advance to the second round where they lost to Virginia.

On January 24, 2017, Pitt lost by 55 points to Louisville, the team's worst loss since 1906.[5]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Crisshawn Clark	0	G	6'4"	210	Sophomore	Huber Heights, OH	Transferred to Portland
Jamel Artis	1	F	6'7"	215	Senior	Baltimore, MD	Graduated
Michael Young	2	F	6'8"	235	Senior	Duquesne, PA	Graduated
Damon Wilson	3	G	6'5"	195	Sophomore	Powder Springs, GA	Transferred to Georgia State
Justice Kithcart	5	G	6'1"	185	Freshman	Durham, NC	Dismissed from the team due to conduct[6]
Corey Manigault	11	F	6'8"	230	Freshman	Suitland, MD	Transferred to Indian Hills CC
Chris Jones	12	G/F	6'6"	215	Senior	Teaneck, NJ	Graduated
Sheldon Jeter	21	F	6'8"	230	Senior	Beaver Falls, PA	Graduated
Cameron Johnson	23	G	6'7"	210	Sophomore	Moon Township, PA	Graduate transferred to North Carolina
Rozelle Nix	25	C	6'11"	300	Junior	Cincinnati, OH	Transferred to South Alabama
Ryan Seelye	50	F	6'6"	225	Sophomore	St. Marys, PA	Walk-on; left the team due personal reasons

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Jared Wilson-Frame	0	F	6'5"	195	Junior	Windsor, CT	Junior college transferred from Northwest Florida State College
Malik Ellison	3	G	6'6"	215	Junior	Voorhees, NJ	Transferred from St. John's. Under NCAA transfer rules, Ellison will have to sit out from the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Kenechukwu Chukwuka	15	F	6'8"	215	Sophomore	Stockholm, Sweden	Junior college transferred from New Mexico JC
Monty Boykins	33	G	6'5"	195	Senior	West Chester, OH	Transferred from Lafayette. Will be eligible to play since Boykins graduated from Lafayette.

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Terrell Brown C	East Providence, RI	Tilton School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sep 4, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Parker Stewart #67 SG	Union City, TN	Union City High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 19, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Marcus Carr #60 PG	Montverde, FL	Montverde Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Oct 26, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Peace Ilegomah C	Newark, NJ	Montverde Academy Prep	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	240 lb (110 kg)	Feb 3, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN:
Shamiel Stevenson SF	Toronto, ON	Hillcrest Prep	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	228 lb (103 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Samson George PF	Washington, PA	First Love Christian Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jun 1, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Khameron Davis SG	Kernersville, NC	Forest Trail Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	May 4, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2015-07-21.

Roster

2017–18 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
} Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G/F 0 Jared Wilson-Frame 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Windsor Northwest Florida State Hartford, CT G 1 Parker Stewart 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Union City Union City, TN G 2 Jonathan Milligan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Mount Zion Christian (Durham, NC) Kilgore Orlando, FL G 3 Malik Ellison (I)  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Life Center Academy St. John's Voorhees, NJ F 4 Ryan Luther 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Hampton Gibsonia, PA G 5 Marcus Carr 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Montverde Academy (Fla.) Toronto, ON G 12 Joe Mascaro (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Bethel Park Pittsburgh, PA G 13 Khameron Davis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Forest Trail Academy (NC) Highlands Ranch, CO F/C 15 Kene Chukwuka 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Söderslättsgymnasiet New Mexico Junior College Stockholm, Sweden F/C 21 Terrell Brown 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Tilton School (NH) Providence, RI G 22 Anthony Starzynski (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Baldwin Pittsburgh, PA G/F 23 Shamiel Stevenson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Hillcrest Prep (AZ) Toronto, ON F 24 Samson George 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr First Love Christian Academy (PA) Iona Minna, Nigeria G 33 Monty Boykins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Lakota West Lafayette West Chester, OH G 35 Zach Smith  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Smethport Pitt-Bradford Smethport, PA C 42 Peace Ilegomah 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Montverde Academy (FL) Benin City, Nigeria	Head coach Kevin Stallings (Purdue) Assistant coach(es) Kevin Sutton (James Madison) Dan Cage (Vanderbilt) Sam Ferry (Vanderbilt) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Sat. Nov. 4* 2:00 pm		Slippery Rock Shoot Down Cancer Exhibition Game	W 71–59	—	24 – Wilson-Frame	8 – Stevenson	3 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (2,278) Pittsburgh, PA
Non-conference regular season
Fri. Nov. 10* 9:00 pm, CBSSN		at Navy Veterans Classic	L 62–71	0–1	20 – Wilson-Frame	9 – Stevenson	4 – Tied	Alumni Hall (3,238) Annapolis, MD
Mon. Nov. 13* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		Montana Legends Classic campus site game	L 78–83 ^OT	0–2	19 – Stevenson	11 – Luther	3 – Tied	Petersen Events Center (3,102) Pittsburgh, PA
Wed. Nov. 15* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		UC Santa Barbara Legends Classic campus site game	W 70–62	1–2	14 – Tied	10 – Luther	3 – Tied	Petersen Events Center (2,685) Pittsburgh, PA
Mon. Nov. 20* 9:30 pm, ESPN3		vs. Penn State Legends Classic semifinals	L 54–85	1–3	17 – Wilson-Frame	9 – Luther	3 – Stevenson	Barclays Center (5,904) Brooklyn, NY
Tue. Nov. 21* 3:30 pm, ESPNU		vs. Oklahoma State Legends Classic 3rd place game	L 67–73	1–4	16 – Stevenson	8 – Luther	10 – Carr	Barclays Center (5,081) Brooklyn, NY
Sat. Nov. 25* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra		Lehigh	W 80–68	2–4	18 – Luther	10 – Luther	5 – Chukwuka	Petersen Events Center (3,317) Pittsburgh, PA
Tue. Nov. 28* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		High Point	W 71–63	3–4	19 – Carr	8 – Luther	5 – Luther	Petersen Events Center (2,399) Pittsburgh, PA
Fri. Dec. 1* 7:00 pm, Stadium		vs. Duquesne The City Game	W 76–64	4–4	16 – Luther	9 – Luther	5 – Carr	PPG Paints Arena (10,118) Pittsburgh, PA
Tue. Dec. 5* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		Mount St. Mary's	W 82–78 ^OT	5–4	23 – Carr	16 – Luther	3 – Luther	Petersen Events Center (2,333) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Dec. 9* 8:00 pm, ESPN2		No. 18 West Virginia Backyard Brawl	L 60–69	5–5	13 – Luther	12 – Luther	4 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (7,748) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Dec. 16* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra		McNeese State	W 72–51	6–5	19 – Wilson-Frame	8 – Tied	6 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (2,830) Pittsburgh, PA
Tue. Dec. 19* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		Delaware State	W 74–68	7–5	13 – Tied	7 – Stevenson	3 – 3 Tied	Petersen Events Center (2,372) Pittsburgh, PA
Fri. Dec. 22* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		Towson	W 63–59	8–5	13 – Stewart	9 – Tied	6 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (3,126) Pittsburgh, PA
ACC regular season
Sat. Dec. 30 4:00 pm, ACCN		No. 15 Miami (FL)	L 53–67	8–6 (0–1)	13 – Wilson-Frame	4 – Tied	5 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (5,307) Pittsburgh, PA
Tue. Jan. 2 9:00 pm, ESPNU		at Louisville	L 51–77	8–7 (0–2)	12 – Stewart	6 – Tied	2 – 3 Tied	KFC Yum! Center (16,461) Louisville, KY
Sat. Jan. 6 12:00 pm, ACCN		at Virginia Tech	L 67–81	8–8 (0–3)	14 – Carr	9 – Stevenson	4 – Tied	Cassell Coliseum (5,478) Blacksburg, VA
Wed. Jan. 10 7:00 pm, ESPN2		No. 7 Duke	L 52–87	8–9 (0–4)	10 – Stewart	4 – 5 Tied	3 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (9,180) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Jan. 13 2:00 pm, ACCN		Georgia Tech	L 54–69	8–10 (0–5)	9 – Tied	5 – Stevenson	3 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (3,544) Pittsburgh, PA
Tue. Jan. 16 9:00 pm, ACCRSN		at Syracuse	L 45–59	8–11 (0–6)	23 – Stewart	6 – Tied	4 – Carr	Carrier Dome (21,259) Syracuse, NY
Sat. Jan. 20 4:00 pm, ACCN		at No. 5 Duke	L 54–81	8–12 (0–7)	15 – Stewart	8 – Chukwuka	2 – 3 Tied	Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC
Wed. Jan. 24 9:00 pm, ACCRSN		NC State	L 68–72	8–13 (0–8)	22 – Wilson-Frame	6 – Tied	4 – Wilson-Frame	Petersen Events Center (2,566) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Jan. 27 4:00 pm, ACCN		Syracuse	L 55–60	8–14 (0–9)	18 – Wilson-Frame	13 – Wilson-Frame	12 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (7,033) Pittsburgh, PA
Wed. Jan. 31 7:00 pm, ACCRSN		at Miami (FL)	L 57–69	8–15 (0–10)	17 – Wilson-Frame	7 – Davis	7 – Carr	Watsco Center (7,169) Coral Gables, FL
Sat. Feb. 3 8:00 pm, ACCN		at No. 19 North Carolina	L 65–96	8–16 (0–11)	12 – Carr	10 – Stewart	5 – Carr	Dean Smith Center (20,381) Chapel Hill, NC
Thu. Feb. 8 7:00 pm, ACCRSN		at No. 16 Clemson	L 48–72	8–17 (0–12)	19 – Brown	8 – Brown	4 – Carr	Littlejohn Coliseum (7,573) Clemson, SC
Sun. Feb. 11 1:00 pm, ACCN		Louisville	L 60–94	8–18 (0–13)	12 – Stewart	6 – Brown	3 – Tied	Petersen Events Center (4,772) Pittsburgh, PA
Tue. Feb. 13 7:00 pm, ESPNews		Boston College	L 58–81	8–19 (0–14)	16 – Stewart	5 – Tied	5 – Carr	Petersen Events Center (2,835) Pittsburgh, PA
Sun. Feb. 18 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at Florida State	L 75–88	8–20 (0–15)	17 – Wilson-Frame	5 – Stevenson	5 – Milligan	Donald L. Tucker Center (9,123) Tallahassee, FL
Wed. Feb. 21 9:00 pm, ACCRSN		Wake Forest	L 57–63	8–21 (0–16)	11 – Tied	7 – Stewart	4 – Tied	Petersen Events Center (2,420) Pittsburgh, PA
Sat. Feb. 24 4:00 pm, ESPNU		No. 1 Virginia	L 37–66	8–22 (0–17)	8 – Milligan	4 – Tied	3 – Wilson-Frame	Petersen Events Center (6,534) Pittsburgh, PA
Wed. Feb. 28 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at Notre Dame	L 56–73	8–23 (0–18)	10 – Tied	8 – Brown	5 – Carr	Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,007) South Bend, IN
ACC Tournament
Tue. Mar. 6 2:45 pm, ESPN2	(15)	vs. (10) Notre Dame First Round	L 64–67	8–24	18 – Tied	5 – Stewart	4 – Stevenson	Barclays Center (10,612) Brooklyn, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

1. Adelson, Andrea (February 13, 2018). "What happened to Pitt basketball?". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
2. Goodman, Jeff; Borzello, Jeff (March 8, 2018). "Pittsburgh dismisses coach Kevin Stallings after two seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
3. "Pitt hires Duke assistant Capel as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
4. "Pittsburgh hires Duke associate head coach Jeff Capel to replace Kevin Stallings". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
5. "Panthers drubbed at home by Louisville, their worst loss since 1906". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2017-02-16.
6. "Pitt guard Justice Kithcart dismissed by coach Kevin Stallings". ESPN. Retrieved 2017-03-07.