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Over the weekend, Pitt's basketball team received a commitment from 2016 guard Justice Kithcart. Kithcart is a 6'2", 180-pound combo guard out of Virginia capable of playing the point or shooting guard.
Kithcart is a three-star guard per Rivals and reportedly had offers from Clemson, Providence, Memphis, Creighton, and others. This site says he also had a DePaul offer.
Rivals does not give him a ranking but 247 says he is the No. 15 combo guard in his class. This highlight video shows some of his capabilities. In short, he looks to be a deep ball threat and also has the ability to drive to the basket. NBC Sports also praises his defensive ability but (despite what was in that video) says he needs to improve his perimeter shooting.
One thing that sold him on Pitt? Brandin Knight:
“The entire coaching staff was great,” James Kithcart, the player’s father, said. “Justice wanted to play for a great coach [in Jamie Dixon] and assistant Coach Brandin Knight was a great point guard. His story sold Justice.
Kithcart will help the Panthers fill the void with the loss of transfer Josh Newkirk. He'll also be there to help the team transition from the loss of James Robinson, who will have graduated by then. It's possible that he gets to play right away.
Guard Damon Wilson will be back in 2016 but if he plays shooting guard, the only scholarship point guard on the roster for 2016 would be transfer Jonathan Milligan. That could give Kithcart backup minutes in his first year. Pitt still should have a couple of spots open for 2016 when Robinson and their trio of senior transfers (Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, Rafael Maia, and Sterling Smith) move on, so there's still an opportunity to add an experienced guard, however.
Overall, this has the look of a solid addition. Kithcart isn't deemed a star, but should be a capable player and certainly fills a position of need.
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