Blake Hinson's shots, speeches get equal credit for leading Pitt to 2nd season of 20-plus victories

When Pitt ventures into Washington, D.C., on Thursday for its ACC Tournament quarterfinal, the Panthers’ hope of advancing to even greater heights rests in large part with Blake Hinson and how accurately the basketball flies off his fingertips.

Pardon us for stating the obvious. Pitt coach Jeff Capel has put together a good seven- and eight-man rotation (depending on the opponent and game circumstance), but Hinson makes it tick on the court and off.

Some examples:

• He scores in multiples of 3 better than any player in the ACC. He leads in volume (106, nine more than presumptive ACC Player of the Year R.J. Davis of North Carolina).

• His shooting percentage from deep (42.4%) is third in the conference and about 6 points higher than any coach has a right to expect.

• He is second to Davis in points per game (18.8).

Imagine, for a moment, if Capel missed his chance and Hinson ended up somewhere else. Actually, Capel had two encounters with Hinson that he all but ignored before he finally landed him before last season.

In 2018, Hinson was leaving Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., getting ready to pick a college.

Capel was in the first months of his new job as Pitt’s coach.

“When I took this job six years ago, he was a guy whose name came across our desk,” Capel said. “I don’t think if I ever talked to him. I don’t know why we didn’t go after him. It was stupid.”

OK, we can give Capel a pass for missing out on the potential of a high school kid who had been playing in the Midwest. But what about four years later?

“He was available (at semester break as a transfer from Iowa State),” Capel said, “and I know my brother (Jason Capel, Pitt assistant) talked to his dad. We didn’t pull the trigger. I don’t know why. I was thinking about so much other stuff at that time.”

How often does fate give you a third chance?

“When (the 2021-22) season was over with and we started building (the next) team, fortunately, he was still available,” Capel said Saturday night after Hinson scored 21 points to help Pitt (21-10, 12-8) beat N.C. State. “We needed him. He needed us. It’s been an unbelievable journey we’ve been on together. I’m grateful that we have more to do.

“Our paths crossed for a reason.”

Hinson’s confidence when shooting 3s from all angles and distances is a big part of Pitt’s success the past two seasons when the Panthers won 24 and 21 games. His leadership and willingness to take charge is just as important when he addresses his teammates daily.

Capel first noticed the impact Hinson would have on the first day of practice this season.

“It would normally be in the past where we would huddle up, I’d come down there and say something and try to motivate,” Capel said. “I was getting ready to do it the first practice this year, and he did it.

“I thought, ‘Wow, what he said was pretty dang good.’ He did it again the next day. I got close and listened. I was like, ‘Man, that’s way better than what I was planning to say.’ I just let him do it. These guys believe in him.”

Capel likes to build his team with players who are grateful for the scholarship and the opportunity to play college basketball. It’s not an easy task to find enough such players, and the first four years of his tenure showed that to be true. But Capel hit the jackpot the past two seasons.

Pitt’s coach recalls his concern after the early-season loss to Missouri.

“We had some guys on our team who thought we were better than we were,” Capel said. “They didn’t really understand because they had never been through it, the level of preparation and rest and attention to detail and how hard you have to play over and over and over every day.”

Hinson didn’t share his coach’s concern.

“I think we’ll be fine,” Hinson told Capel.

It took some time, but after a 1-5 start to the ACC schedule, Pitt won 11 of the next 14 games.

“He knows what (winning) looks like,” Capel said.

After the victory Saturday, Hinson said there’s a “grace period” that is sometimes required for teams to find themselves.

“You have to understand with the new layout of college basketball, everybody loves to win, but you have to expect that little grace period,” he said. “Not only the team getting to know each other, but some teams are just young, just don’t know or haven’t played together much. (It) happened last year, too.

“We got through that, and we started tapping into our full potential.”