PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – All three are key members in their own way to Pitt reaching 20-wins in back-to-back seasons. What Blake Hinson, Ishmael Leggett and Bub Carrington mean to Panthers basketball.
Blake Hinson First Team All-ACC
Named first-team All-ACC for the second consecutive season, Pitt head coach Jeff Capel said this about his senior forward after two-years with the Panthers.
"Our paths crossed for a reason," Capel said. "We needed him and he needed us and it's been an unbelievable journey we have been on together. Grateful we still have more to do."
Hinson led the ACC with 106 three-point field goals, setting a Pitt single-season record. He also averaged 18.8 points a game, 14 games of 20 points and was the fourth fastest player to 1,000 career points in Panthers history.
Capel said the other players believe in him. He said where he would normally give a speech before the start of practice to try and motivate the team, Hinson did it at the first practice of the season. Capel said it was so good he just had him do it the entire year.
"The biggest example that he's given to every kid in this program and even us as a staff. You want people that are grateful. You want people that appreciate being here. He has been so grateful and appreciative to the City, the (Oakland) Zoo, the fans, us as a staff, the university, everybody. It's been really awesome to be around every day."
Bub Carrington ACC All-Rookie Team
A historic start to his career as Carrington had a triple-double in his first college game. After four games averaging over 18 points a game, a three-star recruit was now being mocked in the Top 10 of NBA Draft lists.
"It's been an unbelievable learning process for him," Capel said. "The way he started the first game. He went from a guy that no one knew who he was to now all of a sudden, he's blown up. Everyone knows who he is."
The next four games as Capel put it, he got knocked back. Carrington was 16 of 50 from the floor, including four of 22 from three. His head coach said he kept at it.
"I love the fact that he just stayed the same, him personally," Capel said. "He stayed the same. He never got too high, never got too low. He stayed even keeled. That's a testament to him, his family, his support system."
Capel said it's hard on the players to hear all of that outside noise and he tries to tell players and their families how the praise can change quickly. They shouldn't pay attention to all of the talk, but is proud of how Carrington handled it saying he never thought he had it all figured out. He understood he needed to improve.
Ishmael Leggett ACC Sixth Man of the Year
A starter for the first 14 games of the season after transferring from Rhode Island, Ishmael Leggett suffered a shoulder injury and missed the game at Louisville. Freshman Jaland Lowe had started in his place and the Panthers found some momentum. Not because Leggett struggled, but having another ball handler took pressure off Carrington and it also gave the Panthers a scoring spark off the bench.
"I was thinking long-term for the rest of the season," Capel said. "Trying to explain that to him and have him see and understand his value is still incredibly high for our team."
Leggett bought in, saying it was what was best for the team. Teammates understood the sacrifice personally for someone who had only known starting to that point in his career. It doesn't mean he wasn't still valuable and it wasn't the first time it happened. Same thing with Nike Sibande who was the ACC Sixth Man of the Year in 2023.
"It shows what an unbelievable teammate he is," Capel said. "It's him and the team. He understands the value of the team and what we need. Most importantly, he still understands his value."
"He understands that his role is more beneficial for us coming off the bench," Hinson said. "Only good character guys, same thing happened with Nike last year, it's about having good character guys. If you do not have good character guys they are going to take offense to that role off the bench. They aren't going to take it as seriously as Ish and Nike, and go win that award."
"I'm not only going to be the best bench player for this team, but in the conference."
"Ish is an unbelievable kid," Capel said. "I'm really honored to be on this journey with him. He's had an unbelievable journey to be where he is right now and to watch him, not just buy into the role, but thrive in it. It helped us as a team. It's really awesome to see him be rewarded for that."
