This was pretty much exactly what you wanted to see in a season-opening game against a mid-major team.
Perhaps, though, it strikes a tick above impressive and comes along quicker than imagined, given how many new pieces Jeff Capel has added to his roster, and considering those which he is playing without.
Dating to the start of the exhibition schedule, the offense has been all about one of those new pieces in Blake Hinson, as the transfer from Iowa State continued his tear in the official start to the year by bucketing 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting, while finishing off the double-double effort with 13 rebounds, as the Panthers knocked off Tennessee-Martin 80-58 inside the Petersen Events Center.
And it offered a look into what Pitt's potential brand of basketball could be in the 2022-'23 season. Capel rolled out a starting lineup consisting of five transfer players -- four of which came over to the team this season -- and it looked like this group has played together for five years; not two months.
"With these guys, it's happened organically," Capel said. "I think we have really good guys. I think they all want to be a part of something. All have fascinating stories and are appreciative and grateful to be here at the University of Pittsburgh and to be a part of this program."
Pitt had 21 assists on 26 made field goals, while showing a small dose of the fast tempo that was installed over the offseason. The Panthers possessed the ball 76 times and turned the ball over just 15 times.
Counting the exhibitions, Hinson has scored 20 or more points in each of Pitt's three games; the official one reigning as the most impressive of the trio. He made 9 of 18 shots in total, 4 of 12 3-pointers, and 5 of 6 free throws. Ten of his 13 rebounds came on the defensive end.
"It's been feeling good every since I've come in here," Hinson said. "It's been awesome to be a part of this program. They accepted me, and I'm very thankful for it. ... The offense and the guards finding me, and just being ready, that's all."
Hinson was the sniper to provide the Panthers the majority of their production from the outside. Another newcomer provided the scoring from the inside.
Starting in place of the injured John Hugley IV, it was Northern Oklahoma transfer Federiko Federiko who gave the Panthers a lift in the paint with his 13 points (on 6 of 7 shooting) and seven rebounds.
He was a wrecking ball in the screen game, popping for three alley-oop slams and a couple of more easy put-ins from underneath the rim.
"We've got great guards; they're finding me," Federiko said. "I'm just doing my part. The screens, the roll. I'm a threat under the basket. That's it."
Otherwise, it was a happy homecoming from Midland native and Colgate transfer Nelly Cummings in his official Panthers debut. While his eight points on 2 of 11 shooting don't pop off of the stat sheet, he was still impressive in handling the ball and facilitating and conducting the Panthers' hyper-tempo offense. He finished with seven assists.
"We need Nelly to be a really good player," Capel said. "And that could be being a top scorer. I think Nelly can score the basketball. I thought he got clean looks today, I don't think he'll go 2-for-11 as we go forward, so it could be that he's one of the top scorers. We just need him to be a really good player. We need him to lead, we need him to defend, we need him to execute, we need him to be a leader, we need him to run our stuff, get us into our stuff, and make sure we're playing with the right connection and rhythm all the time."
Marquette transfer Greg Elliott and Jamarius Burton (seven assists) rounded out the Panthers' double-figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"Our chemistry is great," Federiko said. "Our bench is great. Everybody's ready to play."
KJ Simon paced UT Martin with 11 points. Former Pitt guard Parker Stewart, who transferred out following his freshman year, had nine points before being ejected as a result of a scuffle with Hinson with 14:17 to play. Hinson and Stewart were each assessed Flagrant 1 fouls, Stewart was handed another Flagrant 1, and Cummings was given a dead-ball technical foul for his role in the scuffle. No fists were thrown, but some minor pushing and shoving happened around halfcourt once Hinson hit the floor.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Nike Sibande registered his first official minutes since March 9, 2021, after sustaining a torn ACL on Nov. 1 of last year in an exhibition game against Gannon. Sibande finished with six points and six rebounds while playing a team-high 16:26 off the bench. The home crowd gave him a warm ovation, as did his teammates on the bench, when he checked into the game with 14:45 left in the first half.
"I came in knowing Nike and not really knowing his backstory," Hinson said, "but as I got to know him, it's like, I'm really proud for him. He's really a humble guy, and he just wants to be good. Him having an opportunity to be good and be good for this team, it's a blessing. Everyone feels it for him, and everybody wants it for him."
Said Capel: "I'm happy for him, I'm proud of him. I know of all the work that's gone in to getting back. It's been some tough days and times, some dark days. When you go through an injury like that, at times you question, 'Am I going to be able to get back?' He has an incredible support system with his family, with his Pitt family here. The trainers have done an unbelievable job, and most importantly, Nike's done a great job."
• The Panthers were able to turn defense into offense at just the right time. Pitt made 1 of 8 from the field in the game's first four minutes and finished 21-for-63 from the field since. It went on a 33-22 scoring margin to close the half from that point.
"I thought our defense throughout, I was probably most proud of that because even though we were not making shots, we did not allow that to affect our defense," Capel said. "In fact, I think we got more energized on that side of the floor and we were able to make a few. I still don't think we shot the ball well. Not like we've been doing every day in practice. I thought we were really anxious early. I thought we missed a couple, but I want our guys taking good shots. We're taking good shots, I'm good with that."
• Capel made it clear: He wants Pitt to let it fly.
The Panthers shot 41 3-pointers and were evenly split in doing so among halves: 22 in the first half, and 19 in the second.
"We're going to shoot 3s," Capel said. "We're going to take good shots, and if we get the ball moving and get hopping, things like that, touch the paint, we want to shoot 3s. I don't know what each game will be, but we're going to shoot the basketball."
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE ESSENTIALS
THE 5s
• Pitt: G Nelly Cummings, G Greg Elliott, G Jamarius Burton, F Blake Hinson, C Fede Federiko.
• UT-Martin: G Koby Jeffries, G KJ Simon, G Desmond Williams, G Parker Stewart, F Chris Nix.
THE INJURIES
• Did not dress: F John Hugley IV (left knee), F Will Jeffress (left foot), G Vason Stevenson.
Capel said Hugley "wasn't close to playing," though he has been cleared to return to the floor:
"There was no way he was going to play tonight," Capel said. "He got cleared, he'll start doing on-the-court stuff, so we'll get into the gym with him (Tuesday), probably, on the individual basis. The biggest thing is that John has not played. He has not done anything for -- I think it's been six weeks, he got hurt on the Friday of the first week of practice so I don't know the exact date. We started on the 26th, that was Monday, so whatever date that Friday was, that's when he got hurt. He has not done anything since then, so the biggest thing with him is going to see how he responds to after workouts and then getting him into game shape. Those are going to be the two biggest issues."
As for Jeffress, Capel said he is off crutches that he used to help remedy his left foot.
"He's still in the boot," Capel said. "I think we'll get him out of the boot on Monday, and then we'll see from there."
THE SCHEDULE
• The lone remaining game on Pitt's schedule this week is the Backyard Brawl. West Virginia visits the Petersen Events Center on Friday for a 7 p.m. tipoff. The Panthers then travel to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. for two games in the Legends Classic, beginning with a showdown against Michigan on Nov. 16 at 6 p.m.
"I'm going to dig into (the Backyard Brawl rivalry) starting (Tuesday)," Hinson said.
THE CONTENT
• Visit the Pitt team page for more from the Petersen Events Center. You can listen to the latest episode of the H2P Podcast below.