Hugley is on track to make season debut
Just seconds after he took a seat, before a question could even be asked, Jeff Capel wasted no time delivering the big news. After missing more than a month of time due to a knee injury, all signs are pointing to All-ACC center John Hugley IV — the Panthers’ leading scorer (14.8) and rebounder (7.9) from last season — making his return to the court this week.
“John has practiced,” Capel said with a smile. “I know that was going to be a question. We’ll see how he responds and that will determine if he’ll be able to play on Wednesday. It’s looking like he will, but obviously we have another day of preparation to find out.”
Hugley injured his knee during the first week of team practices on Friday, Sept. 30. The Panthers have been without their top big man since, relying on sophomore transfer Fede Federiko and the true freshman twin duo of Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham to fill his workload under the basket.
Capel told reporters that Hugley returned to practice last week, after receiving clearance to remove his knee from a brace last Monday.
The fifth-year head coach says the 6-foot-9 junior center showed glimpses of himself during his return to the hardwood, but still has a ways to go until he’s playing to his full physical capabilities.
“He looked OK,” Capel said. “Obviously he hasn’t played basketball in six weeks, so there’s rust. Today was the first day we did 5-on5 up and down. So obviously he’s not in the type of condition he would be in if he’d been playing, so that’s a challenge. But he did some good things.”
Hugley’s return comes at arguably the perfect time in Pitt’s front-loaded non-conference schedule. The Panthers are set to play a pair of games in Brooklyn this week at the Legend’s Classic, with their first matchup being against No. 20 Michigan.
The Wolverines’ roster includes many talented players in the frontcourt, including Hunter Dickinson, a 7foot-1 junior All-American who is averaging 26.5 points and 9.5 rebounds a contest in the young season. Capel says even with Hugley being on a minutes limit for his first few games back, having him when facing one of the country’s top forwards will be key.
“It certainly helps,” Capel said. “In order to play against a guy like [Dickinson], you need bodies because he’s a gigantic body. He’s very good — he’s skilled, physical and he’s proven it, so he’s established. He’s their best player so everything goes through him. For us, without John our whole front court is inexperienced at the college level. They have two games but they haven’t faced anything like this. So it gives us a guy that has some experience to go up against, but it’s certainly still an unbelievable challenge for us.”
The Panthers’ contest against Michigan will top off at 6 p.m. Wednesday night and will be televised on ESPNU. Pitt will play again the following evening against either Arizona State or VCU.