Blake Hinson's points often come 3 at a time for Pitt, but his contributions stretch beyond scoreboards

Jeff Capel gladly accepts the numbers Blake Hinson adds to Pitt’s score sheet, three at a time. Even when they’re accompanied by Hinson’s fearlessness when shooting the basketball — covered or not, from anywhere on the court.

In his second season with the Panthers and after only nine games (6-3), Hinson leads the nation in 3-point shots made and attempts (39 of 86) and is second to Hofstra’s Tyler Thomas in average makes (4.5/4.3).

OK, the percentage is only 26th in the nation (fourth among ACC players), but at 45.4%, it’s no wonder Capel is unafraid to give Hinson the freedom to shoot as he sees fit. Any coach will tell you that a 3-point percentage that hits about 36% is better than average. Hinson is far beyond that, an impressive feat considering when he takes his first steps on the half-court logo, opposing defenses need to start paying attention.

Capel said numbers only tell part of the story of the 6-foot-8 senior forward from Deltona, Fla., who will turn 24 the day after Christmas.

Again, Capel is building a fresh roster with five players in vital positions who weren’t part of the personnel rotation last season, including freshmen point guards Bub Carrington and Jaland Lowe. They are talented players who look comfortable on the court, but they’re young — Lowe is 19; Carrington 18 — and they need guidance from teammates and their coaches.

What good teams need as much as points, rebounds and assists are leadership and someone to set the proper example. Hinson provides those things, too.

“I think he can be one of the better players in the country,” Capel said. “But probably the thing he has done best is lead. That’s where he’s really, really grown as a player.”

Hinson has enrolled in three schools since 2018, including two seasons at Iowa State just prior to Pitt when he never played in a game.

“He has so much pride in the University of Pittsburgh,” Capel said, “and so much gratefulness in the city of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh and our program. It permeates throughout everyone on our team.”

Hinson has a body like a tight end or pass rusher (6-foot-8, 230 pounds), which makes him a scary sight when he decides to eschew the long-range shot and put his head down and drive to the basket. Yet he’s lost 5 pounds off his listed weight of last season, which makes him a step quicker.

“I’ve seen him do a lot, but more importantly I see how he works,” Capel said. “I see the time he puts in on his game, on his body. When you work like that and you take care of yourself and you’re about the right stuff, usually good things happen for you.”

When it was suggested to Hinson that Carrington and Lowe were struggling earlier this season, Hinson changed the narrative to “they’re learning.”

“(The learning) is still going,” Hinson said Wednesday night after the 80-63 victory at West Virginia. “They can be some of the best guards in the conference.”

The young guards responded in front of the mostly hostile WVU crowd of 12,301 by combining to score 22 points and hand out 10 assists, with only one turnover. Carrington played all but 68 seconds of the game.

Capel said Lowe provided a spark off the bench “offensively and creatively” by driving to the hoop through the thick of the Mountaineers’ defense.

“For those two freshman guards to come in this environment and have 10 assists and one turnover, that’s pretty great,” Capel said.