PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was a surprise comment that got some laughs after Pitt beat Wake Forest on Wednesday. Forward Blake Hinson was asked about Jamarius Burton ‘taking a back seat’ in scoring to get others involved.
The response did not factor as much to the specific result of the matchup on January 25, 2023. It spoke to something Pitt Head Coach Jeff Capel has been trying to instill since he was hired on March 27, 2018.
“This team got no back seat,” Hinson said. “It’s a whole Caravan where everybody is happy to go along on this ride. There is no back seat, everyone on the car ride has a good road trip.”
Capel immediately understood the message and knew it meant it was something bigger than this one victory.
“It’s refreshing as a coach, you are always talking about how every person is important—from managers to everyone,” Capel said during his show on the Pitt Panthers Radio Network and 93.7 The Fan. “Treat each other with respect and treat each other the same way. Just be a really good teammate. If we can do that, be a really good teammate, care about each other. Care about someone other than yourself (we will be successful).”
“It goes to show how this team is built,” said first-year Panther Greg Elliott. “We never thought about it as having a key guy, a main guy. We all knew as being older guys, we can’t do this without one another.”
“I won’t be as good as I am if Fedy (center Federiko Federiko) don’t roll hard every time. I get my open shots because of my teammates. I feel like the fact that Blake said that, it goes to show what our team means to each other. We know that we can’t do this without each other. We work and preach that to each other and we go along with it every day.”
“It gives you the comfortability to make a mistake,” Hinson explained during his appearance on the Jeff Capel Show Thursday. “What I mean by make a mistake is to make a play that this might end up bad. But you know your teammates have your back because they trust your mindset. They know you are not doing anything that is not for the betterment of the team.”
“Even if I do make a bad play, an unintelligent play. I think my teammates realize Blake is a team-first dude. He made a mistake, but it was for the team, it was for the betterment of the team. I think that reflects for everybody. Everybody has an understanding of each other.”
Hinson said he’s never been on a team where there are no clicks. It’s the first time in his career he feels like he’s had a meaningful one-on-one conversation with every teammate. This is his third college. He has a lot of friends at others schools and said that doesn’t always happen. Capel called it a really unique group who are cool to coach.
This program that has had one winning ACC season ever and averaged 13 wins a year over the last six seasons, is relevant again. Relevant starting five transfers and a sixth man who also started at another school.
“I think the urgency is there for everybody in the locker room,” Hinson said. “I feel like we need to get something done now. We’ve all been in different programs, some of us have had success, some of us haven’t. We are all trying to get to the same goal, March. Once you get to March, everybody knows it’s anybody’s game.”
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Honoring Champs
Pitt will honor its 2002-03 Big East Championship team, recognizing them in-game of the 4p tip against 20th ranked Miami. Most will be in attendance, basically all who aren’t coaching elsewhere (assistant coach Jamie Dixon-TCU, point-guard Brandin Knight-Rutgers).
Capel was head coach at VCU at the time, but says he remembers that team. Remembers how they defended and beat you up physically and mentally. How their toughness and grit ‘got this thing going’ at Pitt.
“The pride they had and still have in that jersey,” Capel said of what stands out in talking to members of that team. “They set the foundation for the next 10-12 years. They taught the lessons. Really from that point until about 2012, this program was as good as any in the country.”