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Jeff Capel has done a tremendous job of recruiting the guard and wing position to the Pitt basketball program.

Freshmen guards Jaland Lowe and Bub Carrington developed this past season into building blocks for the Panthers and they’ll be adding Lincoln Park standout Brandon Cummings next season. Last night, Cummings scored a game-high 37 points in leading Lincoln Park to a PIAA State Championship.

There’s no question that the top offseason priority for Pitt is to bring in size to their front court. The last couple of seasons, Pitt had size with Federiko Federiko and the Diaz-Graham twins, but they were all very slender and haven’t provided any meaningful presence either offensively or defensively.

On Thursday night, we learned that Federiko made the decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal. While that may have been a surprising decision to some, in reality, it really wasn’t.

Knowing that the center position is something that could enable Pitt to take the next step in their progression and knowing that they only have one available scholarship, it was very unlikely that Pitt was going to enter next season with the same front court.

The harsh reality was that Pitt needed an upgrade at that position and will look to the transfer portal to get better.

An early target has been identified, courtesy The Portal Report.

Friday morning, George Michalowski reported that the Pitt coaching staff has contacted Charlotte transfer Dishon Jackson.

The 6’11”, 260-pound sophomore averaged 11.7 points and 6.1 rebounds last season, the best season of his college career. Jackson originally signed with Washington State before transferring to Charlotte.

According to The Portal Report, Jackson has also been contacted by Georgetown, Butler, LSU, Xavier, Iowa State, Central Florida, California, Miami, Indiana, Arkansas, New Mexico State and Georgia Tech.

Jackson is a native of Oakland, California and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Pitt has already contacted several transfers in the portal, and The Portal Report will be tracking all of the Panthers’ portal recruiting action throughout the spring. Check out the link below for access!

The Panthers now have Guillermo Diaz-Graham (will be junior) and Papa Kante (will be redshirt freshman) on the roster at the five position.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Sports Now and was syndicated with permission.

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