PITTSBURGH — Blake Hinson set a Pitt record with 110 3-pointers during the 2023-2024 season and concluded his two-year Panthers career with 1,159 points and the mantle of team leader bestowed upon him.
He was praised for his confidence in shooting from as far away as the half-court logo and for helping pull together a program that had been splintered by defeat before he arrived.
“He is in range when he hits any logo on the floor,” ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas said.
That wasn’t enough to get him chosen in the two-round, 58-pick NBA Draft that concluded Thursday, but Hinson agreed to a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“If they bring him into camp and he gets a legitimate shot, I would not count him out. He will compete,” his father and high school coach Denny Hinson told Trib Total Media during the season.
“Whatever they ask him to do, he will do it, and I think he can do a lot of different things. People are just starting to see that he’s more than just a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter. He kind of got into that role last year (in 2022-2023) because I think that’s what was needed.
“(This year), they need a guy who can post up, a guy who can rebound, a guy who can lead. I think he’s showing his versatility by doing that.”
Hinson, who was listed at 6-foot-8, 230 pounds at Pitt, was ranked the No. 71 prospect in the draft by The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie. That turned out to be a problematic distinction in a two-round draft, even though it was higher than familiar names Bronny James (No. 72), who was drafted in the second round by the Lakers, and former Syracuse guard Judah Mintz (No. 74).
Hinson is 24 years old and will turn 25 in December, a distinct contrast to former Pitt teammate Bub Carrington, who doesn’t turn 19 until July and was selected 14th overall in the first round Wednesday night. Because of his age and talent, Carrington is perceived to have a higher ceiling than Hinson, even while the older player led Pitt in scoring last season (18.5 points per game, third in the ACC). Carrington averaged 13.8 and was 20th in the ACC.
In his evaluation of Hinson for The Athletic, Vecenie listed Hinson at 6-6, 240. He can play the wing (where he was outstanding long-range shooter for Pitt) and move to power forward because of his physicality. But Hinson’s lack of NBA explosiveness — he recorded only a 28-foot vertical leap at the NBA Combine — might have worked against him in the evaluation process.
Hinton’s body does work to his advantage, Vecenie wrote. “He is a large human who understands how to use that size to his advantage on offense.”
Hinson put the ball on the floor and his head down more often this season than 2022-2023. Such aggressiveness and his big body made him hard to handle around the rim.
But shooting from beyond the 3-point arc is Hinson’s ticket to the next level.
A shooter is judged to be an accurate marksman if his made 3-point percentage gets into the mid-to-high 30s.
Hinson shot 40.1% over two seasons at Pitt (207 of 516). He also knows how to use screens and is quick — and accurate — off the catch (43.8%). He made more 3s off screens than all but eight high-major players in the country, according to The Athletic.
“Pitt used him to attack mismatches on the block regularly,” Vecenie wrote, “and he was effective doing that. He also was good with mismatches at driving through the chest of smaller players. It was really hard for guards to stay in front and deal with him. He can attack closeouts.
“He’s comfortable driving in a straight line and using his strength to get to the rim or occasionally into the midrange. He has also shown the ability to rebound well.”
