Pitt Men’s Basketball Player Preview: Blake Hinson

Up next is the star of the preseason

Position: F

Height: 6’7”

Year: Junior

Last Season (Ole Miss 2019-2020 season): 10.1 ppg 4.6 rpg 1.4 apg

Career Highs:

Points 26 (1/12/2019 @ Miss St.), Rebounds 11 (1/14/20 @Florida), Assists 4 (3x), Steals 3 (1/9/18 vs Auburn) Free Throws Made 9 (12/7/19 vs CS Bakersfield) Field Goals Made 8 (1/12/19 @ Miss St.), Three Pointers Made 5 (1/12/2019 @ Miss St.)

Blake Hinson played two years at Ole Miss before transferring to Iowa State due to not wanting to be associated with the state of Mississippi because of the old state flag. He missed some time at the beginning of the 2019 season due to a “blood abnormality” and then sat out 2020-2021 as well. He left Iowa State in October 2021 due in part to the coaching change from Steve Prohm to T.J. Otzelberger.

Hinson has dominated in Pitt’s two preseason games, scoring 17 against Clarion and 29 against Edinboro (including 28 in the first half). He shot a combined 8-12 from deep.

So let’s start off by saying the obvious Hinson can flat-out play. He has the pedigree as a top 100ish recruit. His father (UCF and Indiana State) and brother (South Carolina and Austin Peay) played top-level college basketball.

As a former double-digit scorer in the SEC, Hinson is capable of making the transition to ACC play. An encouraging sign from the career highs section above is a lot of his best performances came in conference games. Though he did not shoot at a high percentage at Ole Miss, he is clearly capable of getting hot and filling up the box score. I expect the percentages to increase across the board in his first year in Oakland.

During his time at Ole Miss, Hinson’s bread and butter appear to be spot-up threes and a pull-up jumper going to his right, though he can play above the rim when needed.

I expect Hinson to average double figures as one of the Panthers’ main weapons this season. If he can improve his efficiency, 15 per game is possible.