Credit: Erin Clark
PITTSBURGH, Pa. (PTTP) —— The Pitt Men’s basketball team wrapped up their season a few
weeks ago when they fell to the University of North Carolina Tar Heels in the semifinals of the
ACC tournament by a final score of 72-65.
The Panthers were then left out of selection for the NCAA Tournament and turned down a spot
in the NIT Tournament. Despite this, Coach Jeff Capel expressed how proud he was of the
progression and fight of this team after struggles early on. “We took some lumps early, but we continued to fight, and we got better, and I thought we were playing our best basketball at the end of the season. We were disappointed to not make the postseason, the NCAA tournament, but overall we were very pleased with how much better we got,” Capel stated.
Capel credited the youth of the roster for the season’s turnaround. Freshmen Bub Carrington and
Jaland Lowe, although young, stepped up, even though they lacked experience in the ACC. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our team took off once [Jaland and Bub] started to figure things out. Both of them understood what it takes to be really good players at this level consistently, and learn how to impact our team winning,” he said.
Guard Bub Carrington specifically had a standout year, averaging 13.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and
4.1 assists per game. On Wednesday, he announced at a press conference that he plans to declare
for the NBA draft. Carrington, along with Senior Forward Blake Hinson were the leading scorers for the Panthers. Hinson also wrapped up his time at Pitt with a historic career. He averaged almost 19 points per
game, led the conference with 106 three pointers, and was a first team All ACC selection. Capel described their relationship as he said, “As a head coach, I needed Blake. Blake was a guy everyday that brought incredible energy to our program, to our practices, to our meetings. He was a believer, he was a worker, he became a great leader, and he was a great player for us.”
Without Carrington and Hinson moving forward, Capel remains optimistic about those returning
to the team next season and new faces coming in.