Blake Hinson cemented himself as one of the best shooters — and players — in Pitt basketball history this past season.
But before he was a star on the court, he shined on the football field in Florida. Standing at 6-foot-5 in eighth grade, Hinson was dubbed a “Middle School Phenom” and was already receiving interest from Power Five football programs.
With the 2024 football season starting up this weekend, let’s look back at Hinson’s football highlights.
“Around here, they make you play football,” his father Denny Hinson told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “You don’t really have a choice if you’ve got size. They’ll make you feel bad about living life if you don’t play football, so, he and his brother, they’re both basketball people that were made to play football.”
Hinson played wide receiver as a middle schooler, although coaches and recruiting services predicted he would play tight end at the collegiate level. Denny says that coaches knew he would get bigger and gain strength as he grew, and most projected that he would be around 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds by the time he was in college.
“They could see it coming,” he said.
Hinson’s talent was evident, and he came from a family full of strong genes. His older brother, Evan, was a dual-sport athlete in the SEC, playing hoops and football for the South Carolina Gamecocks. But now, it was Blake’s turn. The younger Hinson brother worked on his craft on both the court and the field, and turned himself into one of the most intriguing young athletes in the country.
“When Blake was in the eighth grade, when [Jim] Harbaugh got the job at Michigan, Blake was the first kid he offered,” Denny said. “Blake was an eighth grader.”
Hinson continued to play both sports into the beginning of his high-school career, earning offers from programs such as Florida, Miami, Georgia, and plenty of others along the way. He used his football skills and his powerful frame to become a dominant force on the hardwood as well, quickly catching the eye of college hoops coaches like his father.
After starring at Pitt for the past two seasons, Hinson went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft before signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. He shined in the 2024 NBA Summer League earlier this summer.
