The departure of Jamie Dixon, as Pitt’s men’s basketball coach, left plenty of uncertainty for recruits. However all three recruits, Justice Kithcart, Corey Manigault and Crisshawn Clark, were able to look past the uncertainty, deciding to stay with the program.
Any time a college basketball head coach leaves there is an expectation he will attempt to bring either recruits or current players with him. Not only will the previous coach try to lure players away, but also coaches across the country get a second chance at recruits they missed out on.
A mass exodus of players is hardly uncommon.
The Panthers managed to avoid that exodus, even though things did not look good to start. Immediately after Kevin Stallings was named the new head coach four star point guard, Kithcart, decided to re-open his recruitment. Shortly after news came out that Manigault would do the same and Clark would follow.
Rumors swirled of Dixon, among others, swooping in to steal away the recruiting class and leaving an unsettled future.
However, it took only about a week for the good news to start pouring in. Manigault was the first to announce he decided not leave, never even officially re-opening his recruitment. Kithcart came to his decision last week, announcing it on Twitter. Finally, Clark was the last domino to fall into place.
The recruits probably just wanted to get a feel for Stallings, looking to get recruited by him. Whatever he said worked wonders, because each of their re-opened recruitments did not last long.
As for the future, this is incredibly good news. Pitt has two glaring needs for next year, point guard and big man. Signing a four-star point guard and a three star big man goes a long way to improving for next season. If they had lost these recruits it would hard to replace them with someone else this late.
Stallings has been known as a solid recruiter, so this should not be a complete surprise. How well he develops these players is what really matters.