Pennsylvania standouts Ethan Morton and Will Jeffress are among those visiting
With Pitt and Penn State set to renew hostilities at Heinz Field on Saturday before a sellout crowd and a group of Panthers legends set to be inducted into the Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame, this weekend was always going to be a monumental one for all involved in the festivities.
Now, the Pitt basketball program is getting in on the action as well, as it will welcome several elite recruits to Pittsburgh on Saturday. The guests include in-state standouts Ethan Morton and Will Jeffress, who hail from Butler and Erie, respectively. Morton is the No. 1 recruit in Pennsylvania in 2020, and Jeffress holds that distinction in the 2021 class, according to 247Sports.
The local duo will be joined by a cast of elite high school players from the Mid-Atlantic and Ohio, including five-star center Hunter Dickinson, a 7’2”, 255-pound goliath from Hyattsville, Maryland, and Henry Coleman, a four-star small forward from Richmond, Virginia. The group will be rounded out by 6’8” power forward John Hugley from Cleveland and an unranked A.J. Williams.
Rivals national basketball analyst Corey Evans reported the upcoming visit and provided the list of prospects in a tweet on Thursday.
Capel’s decision to bring in the recruits on a weekend of this magnitude is a savvy move, as the atmosphere will be second to none. Pitt greats Billy Knight and Charles Smith will also be in town to be inducted into Pitt’s hall of fame and could potentially lend Capel a hand in his efforts.
Beyond the atmosphere and potential meetings with legends of the university, the recruits are reflective of Pitt’s current needs, as the Panthers frontcourt has been a weakness of late. The addition of Dickinson or even an up-and-comer like Hugley could change that, although not for a few years, as both are members of the 2020 recruiting class alongside Morton.
Still, if Capel is able to lock down any of these elite recruits, it would be a coup for the program and a sure sign that it’s continuing to head in the right direction under his stewardship.
