Gueye Shines at Blue-Gold Scrimmage
PITTSBURGH – Grad transfer Mouhamadou Gueye made his presence felt on both ends of the floor during Pitt’s Blue-Gold Scrimmage Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center. The 6-9 forward finished the day with 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks as the Panthers played a pair of 12-minute scrimmages.
“I feel like we did a lot of good things today out on the floor,” said Gueye. “We were able to really take what we have been working on in practice all these weeks and finally translate it out there. It is good preparation for our next scrimmage. We will come back in tomorrow for practice and watch film and they will teach us a few things and correct us in areas we need to work on. It was good to just be out here playing.”
Gueye, the America East Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Stony Brook last season, paced the Gold team to a 27-22 edge with eight points and seven rebounds in the opening scrimmage session. The Staten Island, N.Y., native flipped over to the Blue team for the second session and spearheaded an 18-7 advantage with four points, one rebound and three blocked shots. He finished the day 5-of-8 from the field, including 2-of-4 from three-point range.
Tasked with replacing 2021 First Team All-ACC performer Justin Champagnie, Pitt’s post rotation showed a lot of promise during the 24-minute scrimmage. SophomoreNoah Collier showed his athleticism and energy running the floor and with his activity on the low block. He finished the day with seven points on 3-of-5 shooting and added a block and a pair of steals. John Hugley, returning for his sophomore season after missing much of last season due to a suspension, displayed a full array of skills with several nice passes to cutting guards, a face-up jumper to beat the shot clock and a quick baseline spin and finish on the opposite side of the hoop.
Newcomers Chris Payton and Dan Oladapo combined for 11 points, five rebounds and three assists and connecting on one top highlights of the day with Oladapo finding a cutting Payton for a big two-hand slam. Sophomore center Max Amadasun delivered three points and three rebounds in 10 minutes of action.
The Panthers’ backcourt had a solid day with Femi Odukale, Nike Sibande and Ithiel Horton combining for 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Reserve guardOnyebuchi Ezeakudo knocked down a pair of threes and closed the day with eight points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals. Sibande helped spark the Blue squad in the second session with four points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal, while Horton netted seven points in the opening 12-minute session with the Blue team.
The wing tandem of William Jeffress and Nate Santos flashed at times during the 24-minute scrimmage. Despite an off shooting effort from the field, the duo finished with six points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals. Jeffress was second on the team with seven rebounds on the day.
Pitt will play Gannon in an exhibition game Monday Nov. 1 before hosting The Citadel
Season tickets are now on sale through the Panther Ticket Office. Mini-plan and single-game tickets will go on sale at a later date.
Pitt has also partnered with FanRally to offer subscription memberships to a new premium experience at the Petersen Events Center in the IC Light Baseline Club. Subscribers will have the opportunity to reserve seats and general admission passes to the Club for any Pitt home game. In addition to other benefits, fans in the IC Light Baseline Club will have access to unique t-shirt and rally towel giveaways, and special raffles throughout the season. Members will manage all benefits within the Pitt mobile app.
Memberships in the IC Light Baseline Club are limited. Interested parties can sign up to receive additional information on the IC Light Baseline Club HERE.
(Story and all Photos Courtesy of Pitt Athletics)
