Extra loud ‘Hail’ during national anthem tells Pitt’s Blake Hinson the Zoo is ready
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Before the first shot of the season nestled in the cords Monday night, Blake Hinson knew the Oakland Zoo was ready. Actually, he said the student cheering section reached full throat much earlier than it did a year ago.
“I always tell the story about the Zoo growing in attendance (as last season progressed),” Hinson said. “During the national anthem when they yell ‘Hail,’ last year, first game I believe, only one person yelled ‘Hail.’ No exaggeration.
“It was a pretty loud hail (Monday). They respond to winning. That’s how they should be.”
Guard Ishmael Leggett, a transfer from Rhode Island, noticed the charged atmosphere immediately.
“It was really electric in there,” he said. “That’s just a taste of how it’s going to be the whole season.”
Pitt’s 100-52 victory against North Carolina A&T likely raised expectations among the fan base that the Panthers can put NCAA Tournament appearances back to back. It’s way too early for such speculation, but some of the same elements that led to 24 victories last season were evident Monday.
• When Zack Austin slightly jammed his shoulder on a sideline table, several players jumped from their seats on the bench to make sure he was unhurt.
• Late in the game, teammates made an obvious display of joy when freshman point guard Bub Carrington recorded his triple-double.
“It shows how much we like each other, shows how together we are,” Leggett said. “We’re just willing to not be the person who’s doing the things people are cheering for. But (we are) cheering for them, just as happy as if it was us.”
Said Hinson: “That’s how you should be. That is common at most winning teams. Most losing teams probably won’t care about helping their teammate off the ground. It’s habits we need to keep practicing if we want to keep winning.”
The next test for the Panthers (1-0) will be Friday at Petersen Events Center against Binghamton (0-1) of the American East Conference. Binghamton opened its season Monday with a 72-61 loss to Northwestern after leading 39-36 at halftime. It’s a veteran team that includes three seniors and two graduate students among its top seven players.
Pine-Richland graduate Dan Petcash, a 6-foot-4 guard, is one of the grad students. He will play in his 98th career game Friday, carrying a 40% accuracy rate from the 3-point line, 47.5% overall in field goals and 86.5% from the foul line. He played all 40 minutes and scored 10 points — three above his career average — against Northwestern.
Binghamton will attempt to run in transition and will offer a tougher test than what Pitt saw Monday.
Leggett said Pitt’s defensive intensity fell off at the outset of the second half. North Carolina A&T scored 37 points after halftime, compared to only 15 in the first 20 minutes.
“There is always room to get better,” Hinson said.
Leggett said practices have been intense from the start.
“We want to make it as hard as we can out there so on the court (in games) it’s kind of just second nature,” he said. “We try to beat up on each other so in the game, it’s a breeze.”
Neither Hinson nor Leggett was surprised by what two of their younger teammates accomplished.
Of Carrington’s triple-double, Leggett said, “If you know Bub, he’s built for this. He’s a hooper, and that’s what hoopers do. They go into the situation knowing what they can do, and they do it.”
Hinson said of Jorge Diaz Graham, who made all six shots (three 3s, two 2s and 1 foul shot), “Jorge comes out there ready to play. Every time the light’s on, every time you smell the popcorn, you can count on Jorge.”
Hinson got off to a fast start, getting five of his 13 points on his first two shots — a 3 and a 2.
After he opened the game with a 3 and triggered the Zoo’s confetti shower, he had another opportunity 32 seconds later. The scouting report probably said Hinson never confronted a 3-point attempt he didn’t like. Only this time, he put the ball on the floor and drove to the hoop.
“It’s a read-and-react thing out there,” he said. “The scout probably said I’ll shoot it. I shot the first one, made it. I had another look, didn’t shoot it, he jumped. I had a wide-open layup. You never know. I might shoot it Friday.”