By nature, basketball is largely designed for guards to have success. When the TV analysts talk about teams with the potential to go far in the NCAA Tournament, it’s usually those with strong play at guard.
After all, they handle the ball more frequently than anyone else and, as a result, often take more shots.
At Pitt (11-2, 2-0 ACC), the team is heavily guard-oriented, with Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett attempting a total of 343 shots in 13 games. Three other current starters and taller players — Cam Corhen, Guillermo Diaz Graham and Zack Austin — have put up 244.
Corhen, a 6-foot-10 forward, may not pass Leggett or Lowe, but he’s becoming a more productive force on offense. In the past two games, he has scored 34 points, compared to 17 in the previous four. Capel is seeking consistency, though, and Corhen will be expected to continue scoring at a good pace when the season resumes Saturday against Stanford at Petersen Events Center.
While starting every game and averaging 28.5 minutes, Corhen has shot 69.8% (60 of 86) from the field, which would lead the ACC if he had five more made shots. He’s still producing 11.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, third on the team in scoring (behind Leggett and Lowe) and rebounding (behind Leggett and Diaz Graham). Corhen set season highs Wednesday against California with 19 points and 11 rebounds, contributing a steal and a block in Pitt’s 86-74 victory.
“That’s an upgrade of what we’ve had,” Capel said, referring largely to Corhen’s scoring. “It’s not a knock on anything that we’ve had, but I think there are a lot of things that he’s done. He was able to take advantage of the (defense’s) attention with Jaland, and he was able to get in there and finish some plays.”
Corhen has replaced 6-11 Federiko Federiko, who transferred to Texas Tech after last season. Federiko was nearly as effective as Corhen as a rebounder, averaging 5.1 last season, but he only averaged 4.7 points while shooting 63.7%. Corhen’s better ability to score in the paint was the main reason Capel pursued him when he entered the transfer portal from Florida State.
For the record, Federiko has started three of the 10 games in which he has appeared for Texas Tech (9-3, 0-1 Big 12), scoring 7.8 points on 80% shooting (36 of 45), with 4.8 rebounds in 18.4 minutes.
The difference in Pitt’s overall offensive production this season is obvious. Pitt is averaging 84.1 points per game, compared to 75.6 at the end of last season.
Meanwhile, Pitt has been receiving help off the bench from two players who became increasingly important when guards Leggett and Damian Dunn went down with injuries.
Amsal Delalic contributed Wednesday with a season-high six rebounds against California, plus an assist on Guillermo Diaz Graham’s fast-break dunk during Pitt’s first-half rally. Delalic, a 6-8 freshman from Bosnia, scored only two points on foul shots, but he has shown the ability to hit from beyond the 3-point arc (7 of 16).
“He’s a good player, and he’s learning our style of basketball here and adjusting,” Capel said. “This is his first time playing this style of basketball. For him to come in and have six rebounds and make some of the plays he made passing the basketball is huge for us.”
Also, freshman guard Brandin Cummings (Lincoln Park) scored 15 points, with three assists and four rebounds against Cal. Now that Cummings has shown that ability, he offers hope Pitt can take a deeper bench into the final two months of the season.
“He handled the ball at tough times, made big plays,” Lowe said. “That’s just what we expect from him right now, don’t care if he’s a freshman or not. He holds himself to that expectation. We trust in him.”