Pitt lands 6-foot-7 forward Hinson in Transfer Portal

After losing seven players to the Transfer Portal in the early part of Pitt's offseason, Jeff Capel has now landed his second recruit from the Transfer Portal when junior forward Blake Hinson announced his commitment to join Pitt basketball Monday afternoon on Instagram.

Hinson is a 6-foot-7 forward who has already transferred once before this season. He started his collegiate career playing his freshman and sophomore seasons for Ole Miss until the end of the 2019-2020 season that was cut short due to COVID-19. He announced his transfer from the program shortly after the season, and later revealed a major reason he left was due to the state flag of Mississippi including the confederate symbol. After that, Hinson transferred to Iowa State before the 2020-2021 season, but opted out of playing due to a medical condition that wasn't related to COVID.

But before Hinson could play for Iowa State in the 2021-2022 season, he announced he would transfer from Iowa State in Oct. 2021. During his time with Ole Miss, Hinson played 32 games as a freshman in 2018-2019, averaging 24 minutes, 8.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. In 2019-2020 he improved to playing 31.1 minutes, 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. 

During his time with Ole Miss, Hinson scored the majority of his points by attacking the basket with the ball and creating his own shot inside the perimeter. His combination of handles, athleticism and size made him an asset on offense and defense who challenged various forwards in the paint to create layups, or hit mid-range shots:

Where Hinton could fit in for Pitt is as the team's small forward who could provide size and scoring talent to the position.

The Panthers lacked a true small forward presence on the 2021-2022 roster. Justin Champagnie was an elite forward in that spot for the Panthers in 2020-2021 when he became the only Panther to make First Team All-ACC in program history. Capel tried different players at the position in sophomore William Jeffress, freshman Nate Santos and occasionally guard Jamarius Burton when the Panthers deployed smaller lineups that included Burton with Femi Odukale and Ithiel Horton.

Hinson can be an interior scoring presence for the Panthers with size and length to provide other offensive opportunities to space out the floor. Having his scoring presence would help open up more opportunities for John Hugley IV to work in the paint and improve his assist rate. That can also help with Pitt's guards Burton, Nike SIbande and the first addition from the Transfer Portal in Nelly Cummings. 

Pitt still has six open scholarships to apply to its basketball program after seven players departed from the program via the Transfer Portal and Mouhammadou Gueye's eligibility ran out. Hinson could be an answer for Capel as an interior scorer, but after not playing for two seasons he will have a lot to prove if he can not only regain where he was as a player when he last started for Ole Miss, but also take the necessary steps forward to be an asset for the Panthers.