Will Pitt pursue (and land) Villanova transfer Achraf Yacoubou?

Pitt's basketball and football programs have had so much bad news lately regarding transfers that it was a bit good to hear someone is interested in potentially transferring in. Villanova sophomore shooting guard Achraf Yacoubou, disappointed with playing time (which, according to VU Hoops, decreased as the season went on), announced he was transferring from the school and has secured his release. What was interesting, though, was his list of potential landing spots:

“I’m interested in Pitt, St. Louis, Georgia Tech, Miami and UNLV.”

That's quite a list according to his text. Also not sure how telling it is, but he listed Pitt first. Got to count for something, right?

My favorite part of the story from ZagsBlog, though, was this:

“I averaged the highest 3-point percentage and field goal efficiency and was the best defensive player on the team and I also played well against Louisville and Syracuse and when I played 25 minutes I led the team in points and rebounds,” he said.

Safe to say he's not short of confidence.

One thing that should be pointed out is that if Pitt were still in the Big East, the Panthers wouldn't have landed him. Playing in the same conference with Nova, the Wildcats likely would have blocked him from going to a Big East team.

For him to list those schools, I presume he's found out that they have some interest. I'm just wondering how much, though. Pitt is after shooting guard Jon Severe for the 2013 class. For 2014, they're chasing Khadeen Carrington. If Yacoubou commits, it will be interesting to see how much that affects the other pursuits. My guess? Not much.

Don't forget, he'd need to sit out a year. Severe is needed for the 2013-14 season to fill one of the many empty slots this fall. And Carrington's stock is improving by the day. Hard to see Pitt losing interest in him.

Yacoubou was a three-star recruit and has been solid, but not a star for Villanova. He improved his shooting percentage from 33% to 42% and three-point percentage from 26% to 39% this season. Yacoubou also averaged 2.6 rebounds per game in only 12 minutes, which would equate to about eight per game over 36 minutes.

Stay tuned.

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