PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers men’s basketball team will retire the jersey of Sam Clancy this upcoming season.
Head coach Jeff Capel made the announcement during the football game against Cal at Acrisure Stadium, allowing the players, coaching staff and home fans in attendance to celebrate on one of the greatest players in program history.
Pitt will formally retire his No. 15 jersey on Jan. 18, 2025 against Clemson, with a noon tip-off at the Petersen Events Center.
A special surprise for Sam Bam Clancy. 💙💛 pic.twitter.com/ZigGJxjaXj
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) October 12, 2024
Pitt has four other jersey numbers retired, in No. 10 for Don Hennon (1956-59), No. 34 for Billy Knight (1971-74), No. 32 for Charles Smith (1984-88) and No. 20 for Brandin Knight (1999-2003). Brandin Knight was the last one to receive a jersey retirement from Pitt, doing so on March 4, 2009.
14 players have worn the No. 15 jersey since Clancy graduated, with sophomore guard Jaland Lowe still wearing the number heading into this season.
Clancy is a Pittsburgh native and grew up in the Hill District and starred at Fifth Avenue High School in the area, leading the team to a state championship in 1976 in the final school year before the school shut down. Clancy would then transfer to the newly opened Brashear High School as a senior and joined their first ever graduating class.
He played four seasons for Pitt from 1977-81, starringfor his hometown team averaging14.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game in his collegiate career, an impressive double-double.
Clancy averaged 14.0 points, 12.1 rebounds and a career-high 2.0 blocks per game as a true freshman in 1977-78, earning Consensus All-American honors.
He then averaged 15.4 points, career-highs of 12.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 47.1% from the field and a career-high 72.6% from the foul line, earning an AP All-American Honorable Mention.
Clancy is still the only Pitt player that scored more than 1,000 points (1,671) and grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds in a career (1,342) and his 66 career double-doubles are also the most in Pitt history. Clancy leads the program all-time with his total rebounds and his 170 blocks rank fourth most in Pitt history.
He also started all 116 games of his Pitt career, one of three players to have done so, joining felllow great Charles Smith at 12 (1985-88), and Attila Cosby (1997-99) at 55.
Clancy earned three-time All-Eastern 8 selections and also played for the U.S. team in the 1979 Pan American Games, winning a gold medal.
The Panthers succeeded as a team during Clancy’s time with the program, including four winning seasons, the 1981 Eastern 8 Tournament Championship and appearances in the 1980 NIT Tournament as a junior and the 1981 NCAA Tournament as a senior.
Clancy then saw himself earn two draft selections from two different sport leagues. The Phoenix Suns of the NBA drafted him in with the 16th pick in the Third Round of the 1981 Draft and Seattle Seahawks of the NFL drafted him No. 284 overall in the 11th round of the 1982 Draft, despite him never playing collegiate football.
He played one season for the Billings Volcanos in the Continental Basketball Association, where he averaged 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds before choosing football for the rest of his career.
Clancy chose to play football and started on defensive end for the Seahawks from 1982-83, before he decied to join the Pittsburgh Maulers in the inaugural season of the USFL in 1984. He then played one season for the Memphis Showboats before returning to the NFL with the Cleveland Browns for three seasons from 1985-88 and the Indianapolis Colts for four seasons from 1989-93.
Marty Schottenheimer, who played at Pitt, served as the head coach of the Browns when Clancy played for them. They achieved great things as Pitt alums, with four playoff appearances, three AFC Central Division Titles and two AFC Championship Games.
Clancy still works at Pitt, currently in his 14th year as the Director of the Varsity Letter Club, where he works with connecting former Pitt student-athletes to those currently playing.
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