Pittsburgh Basketball: 5 takeaways from 2023-24 non-conference results

2. Blake Hinson has been consistently great

Carrington isn’t the only pro prospect excelling for Pittsburgh right now. Hinson, the senior leader and co-star of last year’s team, has managed to find another gear to play at his highest level yet. The 6’7 forward leads the team with 20.3 ppg, while shooting 48% from the field and 46% from three-point range (11th nationally) at over eight attempts a night.

Hinson was great last season but there were games where he was in single digits because the shot wasn’t going down. This time around, the senior forward has largely been consistent, outside of a 5-point game in a recent win over Purdue-Fort Wayne. 

Before that was 10 straight games with at least 16 points, including a career-high 29 pts against West Virginia. Hinson followed that up with 26 versus Canisius, a game in which the Panthers were trailing in the second half and needed a boost.

Hinson has taken the ball to the basket much more and also has largely avoided any kind of foul trouble. He looks every bit of a threat for ACC Player of the Year and his consistent performances are going to keep the team in contention for most games, regardless of what the young players such as Carrington do.