Wilson-Frame is the ninth player to request his release from the program
Jared Wilson-Frame, Pitt’s leading scorer in the 2017-18 season, requested his release from the program on Saturday, becoming the ninth member of the team to do so since the firing of former Panthers head coach Kevin Stallings, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.
All nine players have been granted their releases, according to the report.
“I am still considering coming back to finish my senior season at Pitt, but I want to weigh out all options of what’s best for myself in the near future,” Wilson-Frame told Goodman.
Wilson-Frame committed to Pitt in October 2016 and joined the team after a stint with Northwest Florida State College in the JUCO ranks. With the 27-6 Raiders, he averaged 15.4 points per game, shooting 40.5 percent from the field and 37.3 percent from three-point range.
Despite leading Pitt in scoring after making the jump to Division I, Wilson-Frame struggled with shot selection, often throwing up ill-advised three-point attempts. In fact, he led the team with 7.2 three-point attempts per game but ranked seventh on the team in three-point percentage.
That issue saw his aforementioned junior college stats take a hit at the Division I level, as he averaged 13.0 points per game with a 37.5 overall shooting percentage dragged down by a 32.0 percentage from beyond the arc.
In addition to Wilson-Frame, Pitt has seen Terrell Brown, Marcus Carr, Kene Chukwuka, Khameron Davis, Malik Ellison, Ryan Luther, Shamiel Stevenson and Parker Stewart request their releases from the program, and 2018 signees Bryce Golden and Danya Kingsby have reopened their recruitment.
With their releases granted, the players will be free to explore their options. However, those options will not include ACC schools or other schools scheduled to face the Panthers next season, according to a university policy.
It's uncertain that the players will go through with transferring out of the program, and Pitt is expected to hire a new coach in the coming weeks, which will likely factor into their decisions.
With Wilson-Frame's release, Samson George, Peace Ilegomah, Joe Mascaro and Anthony Starzynski are now Pitt's only remaining players not currently exploring other options.
