Blake Hinson, Pitt's leading scorer, will return for senior season
Updated: 1:59 PM EDT May 30, 2023
Blake Hinson, Pitt's leading scorer, will return for senior season
Updated: 1:59 PM EDT May 30, 2023
YEAH. KAYLA, YOU KNOW, THERE’S BEEN SO MUCH EXCITEMENT AROUND THIS TEAM ALL SEASON LONG. AND OF COURSE, THE PAST SEVERAL DAYS. AND ALTHOUGH THE PANTHERS COULDN’T CLINCHED A SPOT IN THE SWEET 16, WE DID TALK WITH A LOT OF FANS TODAY. THEY SAID THEY WERE SO PROUD OF THEIR TEAM AND ALL OF ITS ACCOMPLISHMENTS. ANY TIME PICK IT’S IN THE TOURNAMENT, YOU HAVE TO BRING IT IN SOME WAY. YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO WATCH IT SOMEWHERE. I DON’T WANT TO JUST WATCH IT AT HOME. I WANT TO WATCH IT SOMEWHERE, ESPECIALLY WITH MY DAD AND AND JUST THE CROWD. ALL EYES WERE ON THE BIG SCREEN AT LINCOLN, ZENO, PITTSBURGH AS PITT FANS PLACE THEIR BETS, HOPING FOR A BIG WIN AGAINST XAVIER. MARCH MADNESS IS INCREDIBLE. YOU KNOW, YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT OPENING WEEKEND, THE BUSIEST TIME OF THE YEAR, JUST IN TERMS OF LIKE PURE BAD VOLUME. YOU GOT 64 TEAMS, 32 GAMES IN THE FIRST TWO DAYS. THERE’S NOT MUCH VIKINGS PANTHERS CAME INTO TODAY’S GAME AFTER WINNING THEIR FIRST TWO NCAA TOURNAMENT GAMES SINCE 2014. ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY JUST COMING IN TO GET PART OF THE ACTION. THIS YEAR WE HAD WEST VIRGINIA, PENN STATE, AND OBVIOUSLY NOW PITT ALL IN THE TOURNAMENT. AND IT’S CREATED A LOT OF BUZZ. THE CASINO WAS JUST ONE OF MANY PLACES WHERE FANS GATHERED TO WATCH THE GAME. IT WAS A PACKED HOUSE AT LOT 17 ON LIBERTY AVENUE WHERE WE TALKED WITH THE OWNER. WE WERE ALWAYS HERE AT BASKETBALL SUPPORTERS FROM THE TIME THAT WE OPENED DURING 2000. AND I MEAN, THE SUCCESS OF THE TEAM, YOU KNOW, JUST TRANSLATE TO SUCCESS FOR OUR BUSINESS. WHILE THE PANTHERS 2022 2023 SEASON HAS COME TO AN END, FANS ARE ALREADY LOOKING TO THE TEAM’S PROMISING FUTURE. IT WAS GREAT TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, GOOD BASKETBALL BACK IN MARCH. YOU KNOW, JUST BEING RELEVANT, GREAT. HOPEFULLY WE BUILD ON THIS AND NEXT YEAR, YOU KNOW, BACK TO WHAT WE WERE USED TO IN THE EARLY 2000 WHEN PITT BASKETBALL’S GOOD IN THIS AREA, PITTSBURGH AND BEYOND. THIS PLACE IS BUZZING AND PEOPLE LOVE THE PANTHERS. SO OBVIOUSLY A BITTERSWEET ENDING FOR THE PANTHERS THIS SEASON. BUT YOU HEARD IT. FANS ARE ALREADY LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT SEASON. REPORTING LIVE FRO
Advertisement
Blake Hinson, Pitt's leading scorer, will return for senior season
Updated: 1:59 PM EDT May 30, 2023
Pitt forward Blake Hinson, the Panthers' leading scorer and rebounder, is withdrawing from the NBA Draft and will return for his senior season.Hinson was a second-team All-ACC selection, averaging 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, as Pitt returned to the NCAA men's basketball tournament for the first time since 2016.For his college career, Hinson has 1,098 points, 440 rebounds and 188 three-pointers in 96 games over two seasons at Mississippi and one at Pitt.Hinson joins Federiko Federiko as Pitt returns both frontcourt starters from last year's tournament team. The Panthers also have forwards Guillermo Diaz Graham and Jorge Diaz Graham back for another year, with William Jeffress returning from a foot injury that kept him out all season.
PITTSBURGH —
Pitt forward Blake Hinson, the Panthers' leading scorer and rebounder, is withdrawing from the NBA Draft and will return for his senior season.
Hinson was a second-team All-ACC selection, averaging 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, as Pitt returned to the NCAA men's basketball tournament for the first time since 2016.
Advertisement
For his college career, Hinson has 1,098 points, 440 rebounds and 188 three-pointers in 96 games over two seasons at Mississippi and one at Pitt.
Hinson joins Federiko Federiko as Pitt returns both frontcourt starters from last year's tournament team. The Panthers also have forwards Guillermo Diaz Graham and Jorge Diaz Graham back for another year, with William Jeffress returning from a foot injury that kept him out all season.
