Pitt Basketball still has some question marks regarding the roster, and some new names are popping up.
Pitt basketball has some question marks regarding personnel next season. Currently Pitt has nine returning scholarship players along with four newcomers entering the program in the Fall. Those numbers would take the program to the maximum scholarship limit, but speculation is out there that Pitt could be in the mix to add another player or two. Yesterday, Jeff Goodman of ESPN tweeted out this interesting piece of information.
BYU transfer Matt Carlino told ESPN he has heard from Oklahoma State, Purdue, UCLA, Pittsburgh and Memphis thus far. Eligible next year.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) April 3, 2014
Matt Carlino is a three-year standout for a solid BYU program. Essentially, his numbers have been the same in all three years of his career, as his totals hover around 12 a game, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds for the 6'2" senior to be. Carlino started 16 of BYU's 35 games, and was the team's third leading scorer. He was originally a three-star recruit that committed to UCLA, but quickly moved on to BYU. Carlino could see time at both guard spots, and would help alleviate the burden of Lamar Patterson's departure. He would also be one of the team's top outside shooting threat, but his West Coast background makes this transfer seem a little unlikely.
Another player recently announced his intentions of transferring, though nothing has been linked to Pitt just yet. Chris Obekpa of St. Johns will transfer away from the Red Storm. Obekpa is not an offensive force, but is regarded as one of the top shot blockers in the country having averaged a whopping four a game this past season. He also is a strong rebounding threat having come down with 6.2 of them a game, but his scoring average comes in just shy of four points per game. Obekpa is 6-9 240, and could really help a Pitt team out that lacks a true, veteran center.
The college basketball offseason has really become as interesting as NFL free agency or the MLB trade deadline lately. Last year we saw more transfers than ever before, and this off season has the potential to have that same kind of feel. With new loopholes about fifth-year seniors transferring, it is possible to add a quality player right away and get instant returns from that player. Pitt has been linked to Nolan Cressler, and now with Matt Carlino being mentioned, and sure to be a few more over the next few weeks, it will make for an interesting offseason yet again for college basketball fans.
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