Pitt’s breakout 2022-23 campaign may not have collected a large national media following throughout the year, but the Atlantic Coast Conference certainly took notice.
The Panthers (21-10, 14-6 ACC) received a wide variety of awards Monday night including Jeff Capel being named ACC Coach of the Year and Nike Sibande winning Sixth Man of the Year.
In addition, star guards Jamarius Burton and Blake Hinson have been named to All-ACC Teams for their performances and contributions to the conference.
Burton earned First Team All-ACC honors, joining Justin Champagnie (2021) as the only other Panther named to the highest team. Burton is averaging 15.6 points per game and is one of five players in college basketball averaging 15.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4 assists as the Panthers’ emotional leader in his final year at Pitt. He ranks 10th in the conference in assists, 14th in scoring, and is best on the team at the free-throw line (82.9%). The graduate student from Charlotte, North Carolina, also earned four ACC Player of the Year votes. Burton joins ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong (Miami), Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Tyree Appleby (Wake Forest), and Hunter Tyson (Clemson) as First Team recipients.
Hinson did not play the past two seasons at Ole Miss before transferring to Pitt as a junior. The offensive playmaker leads the team in points (16.1) and rebounds per game (6.3) while also owning a team-best 27 games scoring in double digits. He leads Pitt and the ACC in made triples (88) through 31 games played, shooting 38.6% behind the arc. Hinson’s point average slots 10th in the ACC, shooting at 43.2%, and averages 32 minutes per contest.
Burton and Hinson were the last players to make their respective teams by point totals. Burton (262) earned four more than Duke’s Kyle Filipowski (258) and Hinson (132) one additional point more than Miami’s Normad Omier (131) to earn their places.
Pitt was projected to finish 14th in the ACC preseason poll and improved 10 games from last season. The Panthers begin the ACC Tournament as a No. 5 seed, playing the winner of Florida State-Georgia Tech at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday from Greensboro, North Carolina.
