Stephen Thompson

Pitt football gets 4th commit in 2027 class with QB Kevin Verpaele Pat Narduzzi’s latest “commit signal” on social media wasn’t a mystery for long. Less than 24 hours later, the answer arrived. Merritt...

Read all about Pitt football's latest commit from @abbyschnable.bsky.social.
www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/...

Stephen Thompson's Pitt football chat: 10.28.25

I'm on live chat duty today, so bring your questions and I'll bring my answers. Can cover Pitt football, Pitt basketball, 2010's Boston Celtics guards -- really whatever you guys are interested in. We get going at 1 p.m.
www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/...

Noah Hiles' weekend thoughts: Only one man can save the 2025 Steelers It’s hard to not sound redundant when analyzing the Steelers’ 35-25 Sunday evening loss to the Packers. We’ve seen so much of this movie...

Every Monday I will be writing a "weekend thoughts" column that aims to hit on a multitude of Pittsburgh sports topics. Here is my first one, which ledes with what I believe to be the best route the Steelers can take to turn their 2025 season around:

Ryan Carretta since taking over for the injured Kieth Gouveia as Pitt's starting left guard (per PFF)

319 offensive snaps played (197 in pass protection)
7 pressures allowed
0 sacks allowed
1 penalty committed

3 takeaways from Pitt basketball's second exhibition victory over Pitt-Johnstown A slow start transformed into a dominant finish as Pitt men’s basketball dispatched cross-regional rival, Pitt-Johnstown in the second of two preseason...

Pulled together 3 observations from Pitt Main's exhibition win over Pitt Johnstown last night on Omari Witherspoon, a turnover problem corrected and gaps in the frontcourt.
www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/...

Jeff Capel on freshman Omari Witherspoon: "There’s a toughness, there’s a belief, there’s a work ethic that’s there. ... He’s not a guy who was one of these highly ranked guys so there’s a toughness and a competitiveness that’s there."

Jeff Capel: "[In order to win] we have to understand who we are. We have to be gritty, we have to defend at a high level, we have to rebound and we have to share the basketball.”

Jeff Capel said the team held Papa Kante out because of some swelling in his knee, but he's fine and they expect him to be good to go for the regular season opener next week.

FINAL: UPJ 65, Pitt Main 100

Walk-ons Ben Mayehw and Jajuan Nelson close this one out with a bucket each.

The Panthers went 2-0 in exhibition play. They'll be back at the Pete in 1 week's time for the regular season opener against Youngstown State.

UPJ 63, Pitt Main 95

Corhen leads with 21 points. Indrusaitis has 18. Witherspoon has 5 assists to 1 turnover. 5 Panthers have scored in double figures and they have 40 points off 20 UPJ turnovers tonight while shooting 73% from the field.

Pitt Main has scored 19 points off 10 UPJ turnovers in the second half, while committing only three turnovers itself that led to 2 UPJ points.

Like what I've seen from Nojus Indrusaitis tonight, outside of an early turnover. 13 points on 4-5 shooting (2-3 3FG).

Hell, he might even lead Pitt Main in scoring this year.

Omari Witherspoon is going to be a really good player.

UPJ 52, Pitt Main 75 - 11:40 2H

Panthers have made their last 11 shots and are outscoring their opponents 28-10 in the second half without having attempted a 3-pointer.

Brandin Cummings' 2nd half so far: 10 points, 5-5 shooting, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block in 7 minutes. Helped Pitt Main open up a 20+ point lead it has now.

Brandin Cummings had a quiet first half, but scored 4 points off 2 steals in less than 4 minutes to open the second half.

Pitt has forced 3 turnovers in the last 2:10, made 4 of it's last 5 field goals and scored 9 in a row to open up a 58-44 lead at the 17:20 mark of the 2nd half. It's also drawn 5 fouls after halftime, including 3 on Cedric Rault, a UPJ starter who logged 5 assists in the first half.

HALF: UPJ 42, Pitt-Main 47

Corhen: 10 pts, 3 rebs, 2 ast, 3 TOs
Witherspoon: 11 pts, 3 ast, 2-2 3FG
Panthers: 5-9 3FG, 9 turnovers

Kromka: 20 pts, 4-6 3FG
Forup: 10 pts in 11 mins
Mountain Cats: 9 pts off TOs, 50% 3FG

20 seconds left in the half and Pitt main leads 47-42. Jeff Capel laid into Barry Dunning after he turned the ball over trying to back down a defender in a crowded corner.

Capel's shouts of "Move it!" became "What are you doing?" pretty quickly.

Pitt basketball leads cross-regional rival 39-36 and Pitt football just got a 4th commit in the class of 2027. Who's got it better than Pitt fans?

Pitt Main went from the 11:24 mark to 5:53 without committing a turnover and outscored UPJ 22-5 over that stretch. UPJ is winning the other 11:33 of gametime 26-14.

Take care of the ball, don't let UPJ run, set your defense and Pitt will be golden.

Pitt is on a 14-2 run and has taken a 28-25 lead at the under-8 timeout behind 10 early points from Omari Witherspoon. The Panthers have cut down on the turnovers and turned UPJ's 4 giveaways (all committed within the last 3:39) into 6 points.

Omari Witherspoon knocked down Pitt's first 3-pointer of the night with 10:22 to play in the first half. Panthers had missed their first 3 until that point.

It's 20-12, UPJ at the 11:53 mark, 1st half.

Cam Corhen just committed Pitt Main's 5th turnover of the game. UPJ's made 4 of its last 5 shots. Panthers having a hard time containing the ball on defense. Biggest difference is UPJ is 2-4 from 3 while Pitt Main is 0-2 from 3.

At the under 16, Pitt Main trails UPJ 11-8.

Both teams combining to shoot 50% from the field. Panthers have assisted on all 4 made buckets, with 3 assists coming from Minor. Siulepa has 4 points. Mountain cats up 4-0 in 2nd chance points, though offensive rebounds are tied 2-2.

Starters for Pitt and UPJ tonight.

Kante just followed the rest of his teammates out of the tunnel. He's in street clothes, but does not appear to be walking with a limp and isn't wearing any kind of apparent protective gear like a brace. Certainly something to follow up on with Jeff Capel later.

According to atPitt_MBB on the everything app, it is.

Haven’t spotted Papa Kante yet as Pitt men’s basketball gets set for the second of two preseason exhibitions against Pitt-Johnstown. 38 minutes left on the pregame countdown clock.

Reporting Live From The Gutter