The story of Pitt basketball's offseason has been the five players the program lost to the Transfer Portal and how Jeff Capel responded with his recruiting efforts.
Two of the players lost were the Panthers' only experienced centers in Abdoul Karim Coulibaly and Terrell Brown. That left the Panthers with only Max Amadasun, who will be a sophomore in 2021-2022, but wasn't developed enough to play much in 2020-2021.
But after John Hugley IV was reinstated to the program, Pitt at least had a four-star prospect from its 2020 class to lean on for the position. Now, he'll have more experienced help.
Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported Monday that the program landed Mouhamadou Gueye, standout senior center from Stony Brook:
Pittsburgh has landed Stony Brook transfer Mouhamadou Gueye, he told @stadium. Senior big man averaged 9.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 31, 2021
At 6-foot-9, 210 lbs., Gueye brings size to a Panthers roster that desperately needs it. Amadasun at 6-foot-10 and Hugley at 6-foot-9 are the only players who are at least as tall as Gueye, and neither have his experience of 16 starts last season alone.
After playing two years in junior college, Gueye joined Stony Brook to start eight games in 2019-2020 as a junior and became their starting center in his senior season. That's when his 3.1 blocks per game average set a Stony Brook record and make the America East conference's All-Defensive Team and even win the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.
Gueye combines a strong defensive presence in the paint with his ability to drive and attack the basket. He isn't afraid to get physical with opponents and will often challenge opposing teams' big men for tough rebounds and force them to make contested shots.
Here's when he made ESPN Sportscenter's top ten twice from the same game during his junior season for blocking an opponent twice on the same play and throwing down an authoritative dunk later:
And that's against Virginia, a regular superpower conference opponent Pitt is 1-10 against since joining the ACC.
Gueye isn't the kind of player to make up for Pitt missing out on five-star center Efton Reid, but he is an experienced paint presence who can combine decent handles and provide defense around the hoop.
Even with Justin Champagnie, Capel has yet to have a forward who could provide defensive protection close to the rim and force bigger teams to struggle. There were plenty of games last season when Pitt would resort to smaller lineups with no center on the court in an attempt to speed up the game with smaller slashers who attacked the basket and out-hustled opponents on defense.
But those are tactics that can work for only so long, even if a program managed to bring in superstars for its backcourt. Pitt needs its big men to become a formidable presence in the ACC to balance out the team in a way it hasn't had for several year.
Capel even took to the program's Twitter page to credit Amadasun's progress, so there could be hope to see him more next season despite his disappointing freshman year:
No one worked harder. @milli_smoove 💪📈#ZooEra l #H2P pic.twitter.com/cFuNID2Qqh
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) May 29, 2021
Whether it's Hughley, Gueye or Amadasun, Pitt needs at least two centers to emerge next season and provide the paint presence the Panthers have been lacking since the Jamie Dixon days. Finding a starter from this group is vital, but just as important will be finding that player's replacement whenever foul trouble arises.
Joining Daniel Oladapo, Jamarius Burton and Chris Payton, Gueye is the fourth player Pitt has recruited from the Transfer Portal and with high school recruit Nate Santos, the sixth player recruited into the program this offseason.