Pitt basketball recruiting: A big week for the Panthers

You often hear people talk about big recruiting weekends for football. Basketball ... not so much. Basketball is something that takes care of itself early on usually, and rarely does a team have four scholarships open up at the end of the season. With some unforeseen transfers and early departures, Jamie Dixon has the task of replenishing the roster in only a few weeks time. So who is he pursuing?

Pitt has been in contact with Jamel Artis for quite some time. He has been rumored to have committed, or nearly doing just that for almost a year now. Artis is a 6-5 athlete that can play either the small or power forward spot. For comparison's sake, Artis is a mix of Jaron Brown, Lamar Patterson, and Nasir Robinson all rolled into one. In other words, he sounds like a Pitt guy.

Pitt could be in the mix for Villanova transfer Achraf Yacoubou, as there appears to be some mutual interest. Pitt also is very much in play for New York City guard, Jon Severe. He recently cut his list to Pitt, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, West Virginia, Duquesne, and Fordham according to Alex Kline's twitter account. Severe would be a major coup, after an excellent senior season and is expected to make a decision in May.

Pitt has also been linked with former NC State commit, Joseph Uchebo. Uchebo is a Junior College guy and would have three years of eligibility. He could provide an instant replacement for Steven Adams and Uchebo is a former teammate of current Panther recruit, Josh Newkirk.

After those names it starts to become unclear where Pitt will turn for players. They could always go the Junior College route, or look into some transfers. Either way, the next few weeks seem like they will be an interesting time for the basketball program.

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