PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Blake Hinson’s life turned coming to Pittsburgh and he admits he is embracing every moment as the Panthers host NC State for Senior Day at 7:45p Saturday on 93.7 The Fan.
Hinson is one of three Panthers who will be honored, joined by Will Jeffress and KJ Marshall.
“I appreciate this place so much,” Hinson said during the Jeff Capel Show on 93.7 The Fan and the Pitt Panthers Radio Network. “I think I am always emotional about this place. The reason why I work hard and play hard, I do a lot of things on the court with Pitt on my mind.”
“If it was just me, there would be not much to prove. A lot of things I do now is for the school. It’s always emotional for me. I don’t see it getting overwhelming, but I love the heck out of this place and will play hard for it every time.”
He said it won’t mean he will bring ‘extra energy’ for the game on Saturday. He said he plays hard every game, but it will be special to have a number of family and friends at the Petersen Events Center. It’s not that they’ve never seen him play before, but it’s been a minute.
“It’s going to be cool,” Hinson said. “It will be nice to see them all. I haven’t seen a lot of these people in a while.”
Hinson said he’s been surprised how welcoming Pittsburgh has been as a whole. He said he is actually recognized more off of campus than on it, which he actually thinks is cool.
What he also believes is cool is winning, that is the legacy he wants to leave at Pitt.
“The will to win,” Hinson said. “That’s all it is. Ever since I got here we’ve always broke the huddle down on win. The point to me is no matter what coach just said in the huddle, you could have not been listening, no matter what just happened just know the last thing we said before we broke this huddle was win.
“Win the possession, win the game, win whatever. If you are talking trash, win that too. Just win. That’s the whole point of being here and representing the school and representing yourself is to win.”
“I want to be a player that won. I wanted to be a winner. Winning looks cool. I like to be cool. I want to win.”
He’s done it to the tune of 44 games in not quite two seasons. He also set the Pitt single-season three-point record, reached 1,000 points and climbed up the record books and said it’s all because he finally has a coach that understands him.
“Two reasons-one, he’s an ex-basketball player,” Hinson explained. “They understand what you are doing. What you are trying to do. How you are feeling. They’ve been in your shoes before. That’s something that I never had in college.”
“I think he’s the first coach to understand that everything I do out there is with the intentions of winning. No matter how crazy it might look or what is he doing? It’s all the intentions of me trying to win.”
“This is the third place where I’ve been head coach, I don’t know if there has been anyone that I’ve coached that has had a big an impact on a program that he’s had,” Capel said. “Blake Griffin (at Oklahoma) would be close. I’ve never coached anyone with that type of spirit, attitude and belief. It’s helped me.”
“I appreciate this place so much,” Hinson said. “I think I am always emotional about this place. The reason why I work hard and play hard, I do a lot of things on the court with Pitt on my mind. If it was just me, there would be not much to prove.”
“A lot of things I do now is for the school. It’s always emotional for me. I don’t see it getting overwhelming, but I love the heck out of this place and will play hard for it every time.”
Jeffress is not out of eligibility, but is graduating with a double-major in psychology and communications. He is still able to play two more seasons having seen a vision promised to him coming out of Erie come to realization.
“Culture is built from the ground up,” Jeffress said on the Jeff Capel Show. “I think that’s been one of the biggest staples from when I first got here to now. Culture is the biggest change within practice, games, locker room, outside of the locker room, our interaction with the coaches. Our solidification with that is what changed us.”
“He was 16 when he got here during a global pandemic,” Capel said of Jeffress, who graduated high school in three years. “We had very little access to them and he stayed committed even during down times. He has been an unbelievable teammate.”
That is also said of walk-on, and now scholarship player, KJ Marshall. He started paying his own way at Pitt, had to leave because he could afford tuition, but returned and was given a scholarship for his final year. His attitude in practice is mentioned by all of his teammates, he said he told Capel that he’s the best practice player of all-time and he takes pride in that.
He also is the handshake guy as every starter is introduced, it’s Marshall who has a special sendoff for each one of them.
“I’m the last person to check everybody’s swag before they get on the court,” Marshall explained. “That’s the last start-up for everyone to get right. Even for the guys that don’t start, I have an individual handshake for each person.”
He said those handshakes are personal and represent the personality of every player. It really does mean something to him, it’s not just a goofy thing. He looks at his teammates as more than just fellow student or players, but family.
“It means a lot,” Marshall said. “Earlier this year, my father was going through a lot of medical problems and he still is now. I’m not going to lie to you, a lot of times I didn’t want to come in. I was battling some issues. It was a big toll on myself and the guys did a phenomenal job of picking me up every day to the point where basketball was my escape from everything.”
“Not a lot of times where guys feel genuine love in the workplace they go to every single day. I feel like that’s nothing I ever had to question. Anytime I needed the guys, they were there for me. I feel like we have the same blood. These guys mean a lot to me.”
“He has an unbelievable spirit,” Capel said. “He’s incredibly positive. He’s upbeat. He’s got great energy and it spreads throughout our whole program.”
Three special players should be a part of a special environment Saturday. Who would have thought two years ago it would have become this?