Blake Hinson reflects on time with Pitt basketball during exclusive TV interview with Channel 11

PITTSBURGH — As the Pitt Panthers basketball team wraps up its regular season, senior Blake Hinson reflected on his journey in an exclusive interview with Channel 11.

Hinson emerged as a star player for the Panthers in the last two seasons, but he overcame a lot to get here. After two years at Ole Miss, Hinson transferred to Iowa State, where he ended up on the bench for two seasons with a medical issue.

Hinson told Channel 11, “I don’t know if they (my family) felt like I was gonna even play basketball after this or even come to a school, a school of this caliber and be accepted or even play.”

But the Pitt Panthers took a chance on Hinson, gave him the ball and he ran with it.

“I knew I was good enough to play here, but I didn’t know I could be a go-to guy, a star player. I didn’t realize I could do that.”

Hinson became a game-changer for the Panthers in his two seasons with the team, from his 40-point game against Louisville to his all-time favorite game, the victory at Duke.

Hinson said, “That was a big thing with me standing up on the table and the fans clearly enjoyed that, and the other fans clearly didn’t enjoy that.”

Hinson set a Panthers record for 3-pointers, and sometimes he’ll take those shots well outside of 3-point range. He told Channel 11 that he sometimes doesn’t even realize how far he’s back. Hinson credits the coaches with believing in him.

“It takes a confident coach and it takes a coach that’s sure of himself to let the players do that, because he’s sure of his player,” said Hinson.

Hinson lives by the mantra ‘The main thing is the main thing.’” The main thing for him is winning, and winning a championship for the school he’s come to love so much.

“For Panther Nation in this city, it’s nothing but love. Thank you for making me believe in me again,” said Hinson. “It means everything. It’s gonna be something I tell my kids about. It’s gonna be something I try to push my kids to come here, you know what I mean? I really love this place.”

The Panthers will play in the ACC Tournament next week.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2024 Cox Media Group