Within Pitt’s Jan. 31 loss to No. 22 Clemson was a prime example of the ongoing development of true freshman center Kieran Mullen.
The 7-footer from North Vancouver, British Columbia, scored four points on a pair of first-half layups – a modest total, to be sure — but still one shy of Mullen’s career-best in a Pitt uniform.
While that was encouraging, Mullen also managed to rack up four fouls in only seven minutes of action.
Subbing in around the 12-minute mark of the final half with three fouls, Mullen lasted only 26 seconds before he picked up his fourth, at which point he headed to the bench for the remainder of the contest.
“With Kieran, I have to do a better job — I can’t play him for long, extended periods of time,” coach Jeff Capel said. “I thought he did a really good job when he got into the game against Clemson and we were able to hit him on some short rolls. He scored, scored in transition, made a heck of a pass on a short roll.
“But then he was in for too long and that’s where some of his mistakes came from. I have to do a better job of protecting him there.”
Mullen’s outing at Clemson reinforced that while he’s shown the occasional flash, further development is required before Capel can confidently deploy him for extended minutes.
It remains to be seen whether over the course of the final 10 conference games, beginning Saturday afternoon at home vs. SMU (15-7, 4-5 ACC), Mullen can showcase some tangible steps in the right direction for the Panthers (9-14, 2-8).
Ultimately, Capel does take into account the circumstances that have thrust Mullen into a bench role this season as opposed to redshirting.
Projected starting center Dishon Jackson’s preseason medical condition that ruled him out indefinitely created a hole in Pitt’s lineup that Capel has struggled to replace.
Big man Papa Amadou Kante going down mid-year with a season-ending injury further eroded Pitt’s frontcourt depth, while in the case of the Clemson game, Capel turned to Mullen when Cam Corhen and Roman Siulepa got into foul trouble.
Mullen is averaging 5.9 minutes per game and has attempted only 11 shots from the floor.
Moving forward, Capel hopes he can make the most of his limited minutes.
“He’s not a guy who can play long stretches,” Capel said. “We have to put him in for brief stretches.”
Fellow freshman Macari Moore, a 6-foot-3 guard, has been in a similar boat this year as far as deployment.
Through 15 games played, he’s averaging slightly less than Mullen in minutes (5.3 per game), with Capel utilizing him in short bursts.
In conference play, Moore has made a pair of impactful appearances, beginning with a career-high 17 minutes at Boston College on Jan. 21.
Pitt ultimately lost 65-62, but Moore hit both of his shot attempts, including a 3-pointer, while snagging a rebound with four assists.
Two games later, he saw only eight minutes, but drained a 3-pointer 14 seconds after checking in during the second half, adding a layup shortly thereafter in the Panthers’ eventual overtime win.
After the game, teammates applauded Moore’s readiness.
“He’s just always staying ready,” Siulepa said. “He never changes. Even on the bench, if you look at the tape, he’s always up. I’m just proud of him, as well. He makes big plays every game and he never puts his head down.”
As Moore and Mullen continue to get their feet wet as collegiate basketball players, Capel is intrigued to see where they end the season, and where they can continue building from there.
“Mac has done a good job,” Capel said. “He’s a competitor, he’s strong, he can make a shot, he’s done a good job of passing the basketball and he’ll compete on the defensive end. (Moore and Mullen) have definitely gotten better.”