2014-15 Pitt Basketball Player Previews: Sheldon Jeter

Name: Sheldon Jeter

Position: Small Forward

Class: Transfer sophomore

2013-14 Stats: None, sat out due to transferring from Vanderbilt

Overview

Sheldon Jeter has yet to see any game time in a Panthers uniform but showed flashes of greatness in limited playing time at Vanderbilt. His role with the Panthers remains to be seen but he has the potential to really leave his mark on the program.

Strengths

Jeter has a pretty remarkable ability to secure a rebound. The 6’8" Beaver Falls native has an ability to crash the lane and grab the board over a slower big man. He also possesses a fairly consistent jump-shot that causes opponents to play him tight around the perimeter. With his speed and ability to drive to the basket, he can get around defenders to either create a better shot for himself or cause a defense to collapse on him and dish it to a teammate.

Weaknesses

One of Jeter’s weaknesses is his inexperience. He saw limited playing time as a freshman at Vanderbilt and that was in the SEC. While the SEC has powerhouse teams such as Kentucky and Florida, as a whole, it is not on the same level as the ACC. The ACC is also a completely different style of play than the SEC and this could cause comfort issues for Jeter. The fact that he had to sit out for a year also raises some concerns that he could be a little rusty.

Conclusion

I expect Jeter to start at either the three or the four and expect him to fill the void left by Lamar Patterson. Jeter is the kind of forward that the offense can flow through taking some of the pressure off of James Robinson. Bold prediction: he is top five in assists among forwards in the ACC. I think that he possesses a lot of the same skills as Patterson and see Jeter filling Patterson's shoes admirably by the end of his career.