3-Pointers: Three things that stood out from Pitt's win over UT-Martin
Pitt defeated Tennessee-Martin by a score of 80-58 on Monday to kick off the new season with a win. The Panthers are 1-0 for the first time since 2019 after dropping the season opener in each of the past two years.
Pitt started four newcomers on Monday night. Despite being new to the program, the Panthers seemingly clicked and developed some chemistry right away after recording 21 assists on 26 made field goals. Pitt is 1-0 and will host West Virginia on Friday night in the Backyard Brawl.
Here are three takeaways from Monday night’s game.
Blake Hinson makes a statement
Blake Hinson has not played in a college basketball game in the past two seasons. Hinson's effort on Monday night looked like he was ready to make up for lost time. The 6’6” junior posted a team-high 27 points and recorded 13 rebounds. The Iowa State transfer scored 16 points in the second half, including a fast break dunk to force a Tennessee-Martin timeout during a lengthy Pitt scoring run.
Hinson was 4-of-12 from three-point land and struggled a bit to knock down some early outside shots, but he did connect on a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key and drew a foul in the process. That play, along with the dunk, brought the Petersen Events Center crowd to its feet. He plays with a lot of emotion, and it spilled into the rest of the arena.
Hinson performed well in both exhibition games, and that carried over in the regular season opener. I think there are a lot of things to like about his game from an early impression. He plays hard, is a willing rebounder, and he can make shots. Pitt knows what they have in John Hugley. I also think there is a fair amount of background to know what Jamarius Burton and Nelly Cummings will bring to the table. Hinson is a wild card, however. If he can play with this kind of energy and also add the scoring pop we have seen in this small sample size, then it’s hard not to be a little bullish on this team.
New faces dominate the game
All five players that started the game for Pitt tonight did not come here out of high school. In the modern version of college basketball, finding players in the transfer portal is now almost as big of a lifeline as high school recruiting. Many teams across the country don’t necessarily build programs anymore, but rather you have to assemble the best roster you possibly can from year to year, however it can come together.
That’s what we saw tonight.
Pitt had to build a roster ahead of this season with only five players returning off of last year’s team. Sure the anchor of this team is Hugley, who missed tonight’s game with an injury. But the other key players are guys like Hinson, or Greg Elliott, or Nelly Cummings. Pitt’s team is built on the strength of transfers.
Hinson’s debut was the most noteworthy, but the other newcomers shined as well. Cummings posted 7 assists. He struggled shooting, finishing 2-of-11, but looked in control running Pitt’s offense. Federiko Federiko started in place of Hugley and flourished. The big man posted 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and collected 7 rebounds. His size proved to be an asset and caused Tennessee-Martin some issues at the rim.
Greg Elliott missed some early three-pointers, but the Marquette transfer did show he can be a sharp shooter when he finds space. Elliott connected on three 3-pointers.
Perhaps the most intriguing set of debuts for the Pitt team on Monday came from a pair of freshman. The Diaz Graham twins are the two true freshmen on the roster right now, and they got to see some action in the season opener. Guillermo, played just shy of 13 minutes, while Jorge got 7 minutes of action. Guillermo scored four points — all at the foul line, and grabbed 8 rebounds. Jorge blocked two shots.
It’s a new look team for Jeff Capel this season, and all the parts are still coming together. For game one they looked a lot more in-tune with one another than I expected. The dynamics of college basketball are different nowadays, and you have to find ways to add talent. This Pitt team has a unique collection of stories in how they got here, but how they play will be all that matters this season.
Pitt played really well…without its best player
John Hugley is the team leader for this Pitt squad. He led the team in scoring and rebounding a season ago, and is the established veteran on this team. He was brilliant last season, but Pitt only could muster 11 wins with the talented big man on the floor.
It would have been hard to imagine Pitt having any kind of success last season without Hugley on the floor, regardless of the opponent. I know Pitt beat Tennessee-Martin tonight, a team that is not exactly loaded with talent, but they also handled them…without their best player on the floor.
That's not anything to dismiss.
That type of effort simply could not have happened last year without Hugley, heck it rarely happened with him. I think if that tells us anything, it's that this roster is deeper than it has been in recent years. I think Hinson showed he can be a very valuable player, if not a really good one. Cummings looks like he will be steady. Jamarius Burton does what he does, and Greg Elliott is out there looking to make outside shots. There is a decent little core forming without Hugley, and it will only get better once he gets cleared to play.
Speaking of John Hugley suiting up, I get the sense he won’t be playing on Friday against West Virginia. I asked Jeff Capel if he was close to playing tonight, and that didn’t seem like the case. He mentioned Hugley will be cleared to go for tomorrow, but he has not practiced in six weeks. It seems unlikely that he will be in game shape to play a Big 12 opponent on three days of practice, but I guess we’ll see.
Not having Hugley against West Virginia is a tough draw for this team. Pitt has not had much success against the Mountaineers in recent years, and hosting a rivalry game in front of a packed house without your best player is a devastating blow.
Having said that, it’s encouraging what we saw from this team on Monday without him anyway. Hinson looks more than comfortable of being that go-to-guy, and having experienced guards like Burton and Cummings is what you need when facing a Bob Huggins-coached team. Federiko if nothing else, looks to be a willing rebounder that can alter shots with his length. He can’t bring Hugley’s scoring prowess to the floor, but can affect the game in other ways maybe better than him.
Pitt is going into a tough situation on Friday, but there were signs they can be successful without Hugley on the floor.