Pitt is counting on Brown graduate transfer Rafael Maia to help produce on the interior this season, but the school announced that he’ll be out indefinitely with a thumb injury. According to a release from the school, Maia suffered the injury in practice on Tuesday and his right hand is currently in a soft cast.
Maia will be reevaluated in two weeks.
The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 9.9 points and 8.7 rebounds per game on 53 percent shooting as a junior. This injury shouldn’t hurt Pitt too much if Maia is able to return before games begin, since he already has three years of productive ball under his belt, but it would have been nice for the forward to acclimate to his new teammates in the first weeks of practice.