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2018 ACC preview: Notre Dame, Louisville battle for top

By Arielle Chambers

COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw and her team pose for photos after winning the National Championship game between the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on April 1, 2018 at Nationwide Arena. Notre Dame won 61-58. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 01: Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Muffet McGraw and her team pose for photos after winning the National Championship game between the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on April 1, 2018 at Nationwide Arena. Notre Dame won 61-58. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Richard C. Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Richard C. Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Pittsburgh Panthers

Projected finish: 13th

Last year’s record: 10-20, 2-14 ACC

Key returners (last season’s stats):

C- Kalista Walters, 6’1, (Fleetwood, PA), SR– 9.8 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 30.5 MPG; program record for single-game field percentage (12-12 from the floor); led ACC in field goal percentage (66.7) on 2017-18 season.

G- Aysia Bugg, 5’7, (Chicago, IL), R-SR- redshirted 17-18 season due to injury; 7.1 PPG, 3.4 APG (16-17).

G- Alayna Gribble, 6’0, (Pittsburgh, PA), JR–  7.7 PPG,1.6 RPG, 22.8 MPG; 1.9 three-pointers per game; in Pitt’s top 10 record book for career threes.

(Photo by Adam Creech/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images)
(Photo by Adam Creech/Icon Sportswire/Corbis via Getty Images) /

Biggest losses (last season’s stats)

F- Yacine Diop, 5’10, (Dakar, Senegal)-  15.3 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 29.8 MPG; transferred to Louisville for her last season of eligibility.

Newcomers

G- Jahsyni Knight, 5’8, (Perth Amboy, NJ), FR

G – Ismini Prapa, 5’7, (Athens, Greece), FR

G- Tehya Lyons, 5’7, (Norcross, GA), FR

Head Coach

Lance White, 1st Season

  • 15 years at Florida Sate as assistant coach with record of 350-145 (.707)
  • Brought Danielle Atkinson with him who also coached at Florida State
  • Also hired Terri Mitchell who is Marquette’s winningest women’s basketball coach (348 wins).

Key non-conference games:

Nov 19– @ Georgetown: 7 pm ET

Dec 21– St. Francis (PA): 7 pm ET

Feb 17– @ Florida State: 2pm ET (ACCN)

Outlook:

After finishing 14th in the conference last season, Pitt has made a switch in the coaching staff. James White comes from Florida State, bringing Danielle Atkinson to assist him. He has also added Terri Mitchell (formally the all-time winningest women’s basketball coach at Marquette) to create a strong “Dream Team” of coaches, as he has emphasized to the press at ACC Media Day.

Other than a new, strong coaching staff, Pitt should not struggle with offense this season; they still have 73.3 percent of offensive production from the 17-18 year.  While Pitt lost 15.3 points per game due to Yacine Diop’s transfer to Louisville, they still have strong offense from the ACC’s leader in field goal percentage, Kalista Walters.  In a pretty sizable conference, her post-production is essential in Pitt’s success.

Returning for the Panthers is Aysia Bugg, a 5’7 point guard who is known for her assists. It is her red-shirt senior season, so her veteran leadership is something Pitt is looking to utilize.  Alayna Gribble’s three-point shooting will round-out the lineup. Pitt can turn things around.

If Coach White’s eagerness can trickle down to his players, they should have instant improvement.  However, the struggle for the Pitt program will be recruiting.  Coach White will need to find a way to lay the foundation to build upon so Pitt can develop into the team he wants.

Best case scenario:

Because of their returning players’ offensive production and the seemingly well-roundedness of this Pitt team, with the addition of new coaches, Pitt could very well see immediate improvement in their record. Will it be significant improvement? That’s questionable. But, best case, they will finish in a higher rank than last year, and hopefully make top 10 in the conference (most likely around that 10th or 11th spot).

Worst case scenario:

Pitt is undersized and struggles with matching up to the top 10 teams in the conference. They also suffer more than predicted from the loss of Diop. They finish at the bottom of the conference yet another year.

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