Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes might not have been intimately familiar with Pitt freshman forward Roman Siulepa beyond his team’s routine scouting report.
But how he described him after Pitt’s overtime win over the Demon Deacons on Tuesday at Petersen Events Center made perfect sense, if Forbes was, indeed, aware of Siulepa’s background.
“I really like him. He plays really hard. He’s so strong,” Forbes said. “He’s got a really strong lower base. You try to wedge him and block him out, and he creates space. … He’s a tough, emotional player, and he can shoot it.”
A strong lower base with the ability to overpower people served Siulepa well in Australia, where he was a nationally regarded pro rugby prospect before he committed to the Panthers over the summer.
Now the Brisbane native is increasingly showcasing that kind of physicality. Over his last three games, he is averaging 14.3 points and 13 rebounds.
For coach Jeff Capel, entrusting an international freshman who hadn’t played a minute of North American basketball with a spot in the starting lineup to begin the year constituted a gamble.
But the 6-foot-6 Siulepa, who continues to find his groove, is demonstrating to Capel that bringing him to Pittsburgh was a worthwhile investment.
“Really cool to see him start to find his voice a little bit,” Capel said. “I’ve seen it in practice. I’ve seen it the past few games. I’ve seen it in huddles. He’s starting to speak up, starting to understand his place on the team and also understanding what the team needs. It’s been cool to watch that.”
Siulepa, who is averaging 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, displayed some growing pains as the season got underway. Thrust into a prominent role despite only joining the Panthers from Australia in September, he averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds through Pitt’s first 11 games.
In the 10 games since, he is averaging 13.7 points and 7.6 rebounds.
In total, Siulepa is shooting 46.8% from the floor and has boosted his 3-point make rate to 30.4% (over Pitt’s first 12 games, he shot only 15% from deep).
“To be honest, I’ve put in more work,” Siulepa said. “You put in the work and hope it translates. For me, at the moment, it is. I’m not trying to let my teammates down. I went through a stretch where I knew I wasn’t playing to the best of my ability. I could have sat there sad, felt sorry for myself, or I could go into the gym and put more work in.”
As Pitt (9-12, 2-6 ACC) heads into its matchup Saturday at No. 22 Clemson (17-4, 7-1), teammates appreciate the added emotional, physical and statistical presence Siulepa has brought to the court.
“I’m so proud of Roman,” guard/forward Barry Dunning Jr. said. “Despite how this conference schedule is going for us, Roman’s bringing energy. He’s that bruiser for us on the team. Strong, physical forward. I feel like nobody can stop him on the drive. He’s getting better with his shots, so guys have to close out to him now.
“(Once) he starts knocking down free throws, I think he’s going to be unstoppable. I see the work day-in and day-out, before practice, after practice, even before games. I’m proud of my guy. He’s getting those rebounds for us and just a glue guy and a big energy guy for us.”
Dunning’s point about Siulepa’s free-throw shooting wasn’t a dig at his teammate.
Capel has made repeated note of Pitt’s struggles as a team from the free-throw line. With a 66.4% collective make rate, the Panthers rank 16th in the ACC, and Siulepa has personified those struggles.
While he went 3 for 3 against Wake Forest, he was 3 of 7 vs. N.C. State on Jan. 24 and 3 of 6 three days prior at Boston College.
Siulepa has made just 49.2% (30 of 61) of his free throw attempts this season.
“As you can see, the free throws still aren’t falling,” he said. “What I’m going to do is get in the gym, keep trying to grind it out and get out of this hump.”
As Siulepa keeps peaking, Capel is intrigued to see just how much he can continue developing.
“He’s just continuing to get better,” Capel said.