Pitt coach Jeff Capel has two open scholarships, but he's not in a hurry to fill them

There are 11 scholarship players on Pitt's basketball roster, and coach Jeff Capel has two to give this year. But the scholarships aren't burning a hole in his pocket, and he promises to be judicious when and if he passes them out before the season.

“Maybe, if the right guy comes along,” he said of using of those promises of free education. “But we're not going to just give them.

“It would have to be someone we feel like is good enough to help us now. It would have to be somebody who can add value, help us now or help us down the road.”

In the end, Capel knew he lost Ryan Luther, Marcus Carr and Parker Stewart -- probably his best leader and rebounder (Luther), best ball-handler (Carr) and best 3-point shooter (Stewart) -- to Arizona, Minnesota and Tennessee-Martin, respectively.

“It wasn't difficult. It was expected,” he said. “It was just trying to figure out the roster.”

It took several weeks before he knew for sure who was staying and who was leaving.

“I knew recruiting was going to be big. But exactly how many were we going to need to get?” he said. “That was the big question.

“I was not going to take guys, even if all of them would have left, just to have bodies.

“The thing that I wanted were guys who have value and are actually good enough to help us be competitive and eventually help us win.”

Due to the circumstance of Pitt firing Kevin Stallings and not hiring his replacement for nearly three weeks, Capel's staff got a late start in recruiting.

“First of all, there aren't many guys left.” he said. “And, then, what you're trying to do is see who's transferring. Look at the fifth-year market. I never did that at Duke (where he was an assistant for seven years).”

In the end (at least until or if he finds another desirable prospect), Capel has 11 scholarship players.

Among those who decided to stay are senior Jared Wilson-Frame, junior Kene Chukwuka and sophomores Shamiel Stevenson, Khameron Davis, Terrell Brown, Samson George and Peace Ilegomah and junior Malik Ellison, a transfer from St. John's who sat out last season.

Capel bolstered the roster by successfully recruiting guards Trey McGowens and Xavier Johnson and New Mexico State transfer Sidy N'Dir.

He said Pitt's membership in the ACC helped in recruiting.

“Guys want to play against the best and in the best,” he said. “Opportunity to play right away, that certainly helped as well.”

Jerry DiPaola is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jdipaola@tribweb.com or via Twitter @JDiPaola_Trib.