Column | Pitt men’s basketball is starting to make a name for itself in the NBA

In the past few seasons, Pitt men’s basketball has shown little to no presence in the NBA. During the 2024-2025 season, however, Pitt will have multiple alumni competing throughout the league and possibly making significant contributions. 

After his impressive one-and-done season at Pitt, the Washington Wizards selected Carlton “Bub” Carrington No. 14 overall. Steven Adams — a fellow Pitt one-and-done — was the most recent first-round NBA draft selection from Pitt, going No. 13 overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2013.

Blake Hinson, the Panthers’ leading scorer of the 2023-2024 season and a major contributor to Pitt’s success in the past two seasons, signed a two-way deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Bub Carrington

The one-and-done guard earned himself the honors of lottery pick status due to his high upside. 

Carrington is only 18 years old and has ample time to grow. The Wizards seemingly want to use the guard from Baltimore, Maryland, at both the point guard and shooting guard positions, which is where the lottery pick sees himself thriving the most. 

“I would say I could transition into, like, a Dejounte Murray or a Devin Booker kind of player,” Carrington said to reporters at the NBA Combine. 

“Where it’s not really a one [point guard], not really a two [shooting guard], but ball-dominant and can come off ball screens, can create for others and can obviously create for themselves.”

Carrington playing like Booker is a real possibility. He isn’t going to reach that status immediately, obviously, but he has the tools to become Booker-like throughout his NBA career. 

Carrington’s ability to spot up and make any shot from mid-range is the clearest similarity between the Pitt alumni and All-Star vet. An underrated facet of Carrington’s game is his playmaking, which is a valuable asset I’m sure the Wizards are happy to have. 

Draft analysts’ biggest downfall they tagged on to Carrington is his athleticism. Analysts believe that going from the college level to the pro level could become a challenge. If these analysts are correct, that doesn’t ruin Carrington’s success as an NBA player. He might not become a star like Booker, but he still would have assets similar to those of guards like Mike Conley or D’Angelo Russell.

With Carrington still living through his teen years in his rookie season, I could see him having to battle some major ups and downs while getting used to the NBA life. 

Throughout the season, while playing on a rebuilding Wizards squad, he will show flashes of how he could become the next Booker. 

Blake Hinson

Hinson signed a two-way contract with the Lakers because of his ability to stretch the floor.

Hinson, unlike Carrington, won’t have a ton of time to grow in the NBA. The Deltona, Florida, native is 24 years old and needs to make an impact soon. Hinson could see himself fighting to make G-League rosters or playing overseas, but I believe that if Hinson was 20 years old, he would have found himself as one of the 58 draft picks announced on June 26 and 27. 

Sadly for Hinson, that wasn’t the case. Yet after watching him dominate at Pitt for the past two seasons, I believe he could make a huge difference for the Lakers. 

This offseason, the Lebron James-led Lakers didn’t make any eye-popping moves besides drafting James’ first-born Bronny James at No. 55 overall and Tennessee standout Dalton Knecht at No. 17 overall. The lack of moves created a clear path for Hinson to make a difference early on.

Hinson most likely isn’t going to become a superstar talent, but he knows that and understands what role he will play throughout his NBA career. 

Hinson called himself “what people might consider a three-and-D type of person,” in a pre-draft interview with the Indiana Pacers, but said he’s “bringing that energy off the court or in the locker room.”

During Hinson’s rookie campaign, I believe he will start his season in the G-League, but with the Lakers inevitably struggling to space the floor, Hinson will get called up. 

Hinson will make a difference because that is all he has done while I have watched him play basketball. If Hinson comes up and shows the same ability he had in college, he will stay in the NBA for a long time and become similar to a Jae Crowder three-and-D player. 

Welcome to the NBA, Pitt fans. 

Panthers fans typically don’t have any Pitt-related rooting interests with the NBA. With Carrington and Hinson’s rookie seasons coming up, though, Pitt fans will have more interest than ever in what is going on in the association. This interest for Pitt fans will only grow, as current student-athletes like sophomore guard Jaland Lowe have already earned projections to become lottery picks next season.