Leading up to Pitt basketball’s first game of the season on Nov. 7, Pittsburgh Sports Now will release profiles of each player on the active roster, including the walk-ons.
We continue our All-14 series with the leading scorer from last week’s exhibition game, Blake Hinson.
BLAKE HINSON
Hometown: Deltona, Florida
Height, Weight: 6’7, 235 LBS
Position: Forward
Number: 2
Year: Junior
Previous years: Hinson hasn’t played a game since the 2019-20 season with Ole Miss. He transferred to Iowa State but left the team before appearing in any game action for the Cyclones. In that 2019-20 season with Ole Miss, Hinson shined, starting 27 games for the Rebels. He averaged 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game that year, and also hit 45 three pointers. The year before, Hinson started 31 games as a freshman. He posted averages of 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game that year, and even added 11 points and six rebounds in an NCAA Tournament play-in game against Brady Manek and Oklahoma.
The storyline: Hinson committed to Pitt out of the transfer portal on April 18 this offseason. We didn’t know much about how he would look after not playing for two years, but in Pitt’s recent exhibition game, Hinson answered lots of questions. In that performance, he put up a game-high 20 points on 6-for-9 shooting (4 for 7 from three-point range). Hinson looked comfortable on the wing with his quick shooting release and also went inside for some physical finishes. He will be a weapon for the Panthers this season alongside the team’s shooters and Hugley.