The fate of Pittsburgh men’s basketball season may just ride on the shoulders of fifth-year senior guard Damarco Minor.
The 6-foot Minor is a transfer from Oregon State after playing his first two seasons at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
Eighth-year coach Jeff Capel hopes Minor can fill the big shoes of Jaland Lowe, who transferred to Kentucky after averaging 16.8 points and 5.5 assists to earn third-team all-ACC honors.
“He’s learning his team and each personality, which I think is one of the primary keys for a really good point guard,” Capel told TribLive.com. “You have to understand who it is that you’re leading, what makes them tick and what buttons to push. The only way you can learn that is through relationships.”
Minor is off to a good start after scoring 15 points in an exhibition game against Providence. He averaged 9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 32 starts for the 20-win Beavers last season.
Minor makes his regular-season debut when the Panthers host Youngstown State on Monday, but he’s not the only transfer who has fostered high expectations.
Senior Barry Dunning Jr. (South Alabama) was First Team All-Sun Belt after averaging 15.1 points per game. Nojus Indrusaitis, a 6-5 sophomore transfer, was a Top 75 recruit in the Class of 2024 but played sparingly for Iowa State.
Cameron Corhen (9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg) is the only returning starter for a Pittsburgh squad that finished 17-15 last season.
Youngstown State (21-13) has rattled off three straight 20-win seasons for the first time in program history, but the Penguins must integrate 11 new players to have a shot at a fourth.
“With this many new guys in our system, it takes time to get up to speed,” said second-year coach Ethan Faulkner. “We had that last year, too, and we were able to bring it all together. I think we are ahead of where we were last year.”
Cris Carroll and Jason Nelson are the only returnees who played last season.
Carroll, a 6-6 senior, ranked as the Penguins’ No. 5 scorer (9.2 ppg) and No. 3 rebounder (5.0 rpg). Nelson, a 5-10 senior, started 13 games last season and averaged 8.0 points and 2.7 assists per game with 30 steals.
