Men’s basketball signs 6-foot-10 center Peace Ilegomah

After a plethora of defects to start the offseason, the Pitt men’s basketball program received a recruit on Monday with the signing of 6-foot-10 center Peace Ilegomah.

Ilegomah played at Montverde Academy in Florida this past year and averaged 14 points and 12 rebounds per game. His team finished as the runner-up in the National Prep Championship, ending the season with a 25-7 record.

Pitt head coach Kevin Stallings will look to the Nigerian to bolster the Panthers’ inside presence, as the program has been without a true center since Steven Adams left for the NBA in 2013.

“Peace has terrific size and strength with the potential to develop into an impact player on both ends of the floor,” Stallings said in the team’s press release. “He has shown the ability to be a high volume rebounder and has good instincts on the defensive end of the floor, while playing for a couple of very good programs during his high school and prep year.”

Ilegomah is the fourth member of Pitt’s recruiting class, joining point guard Marcus Carr and forwards Jared Wilson-Frame and Terrell Brown.

The program is in dire need of players, as four Panthers from last year’s team transferred and two former recruits retracted their commitments. Stallings has remained optimistic, saying the incoming group will be the center of his team.

“We are excited about our incoming class,” Stallings said in the press release. “We are going to build around players committed to one another, the community and the university and this is a talented group of players that will help form the foundation of this program.”