PITTSBURGH — The Pitt Panthers lost out on another one of their top basketball recruits, as they committed to North Carolina.
Isaiah Denis, a four-star guard, announced his commitment to the Tar Heels over the Panthers, Tennessee Volunteers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Miami Hurricanes and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Denis put Pitt in his top 10 schools, along with ACC schools in Miami, North Carolina and Wake Forest, Big Ten schools in Michigan and Ohio State, Big 12 schools in rival Cincinnati and Kansas and SEC schools in Mississippi State and Tennessee.
He would eventually cut down his list to the six schools, cutting out Cincinnati, Michigan and Mississippi State, and skipping his visit to Kansas.
Denis received his offer from Pitt at the end of May made his official visit to Pitt on Aug. 30, which helped him put them in his final schools.
He also took official visits to Ohio State on Sept. 7, Miami on Sept. 13, North Carolina on Sept. 28, Wake Forest on Oct. 5 and his final one to Tennessee on Oct. 12.
Denis played last season for Davidson Day School in Davidson, N.C. He helped his team to a 24-7 record and the NCISAA (North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association) Class 2A State Title, scoring a team-high 18 points in the 74-64 victory over Greenfield School.
His performances for Team CP3 on the Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) Circuit serve as a large reason why Pitt and a number of other schools started paying attention to him over the summer.
247Sports, Rivals and On3 rank Denis as a four-star. 247Sports has him as the No. 2 recruit in North Carolina, the No. 8 combo guard and the No. 47 recruit in the nation in the Class of 2025, Rivals ranks him as the No. 18 shooting guard and No. 62 in the country, while On3 has him as the No. 2 recruit in the state, No. 15 point guard and No. 90 in the U.S.
Denis is one of a few players in the Class of 2025 that turned down Pitt in the past two months.
Four-star guard Derek Dixon had Pitt in his top six, but also chose North Carolina back on Sept. 27, making this two targets that committed to their ACC foe.
Four-star wing Amari Evans had Pitt in his final three, but would decide to commit to Tennessee on Nov. 1.
Two more four-stars in wing Davion Hannah chose not to go on on his official visit to Pitt on Oct. 19, cutting them from his final list, and four-star forward Niko Bundalo didn’t include Pitt in his last four schools.
Four-star wing Cornelius “C.J.” Ingram II out of Hawthorne High School in Hawthorne, Fla. had Pitt in his top 10 schools, but decided to commit to Florida, where his dad played football.
Five-star guard Meleek Thomas is the last big target for Pitt, who he has in his final seven schools, but doesn’t have a commitment date yet.
Pitt has one commitment in the Class of 2025 in four-star guard Omari Witherspoon who plays for St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C.
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