Pitt G Earns ACC Freshman Honors

A Pitt Panthers guard earned ACC Rookie of the Week Honors.

Dominic Campbell | Dec 16, 2024

Nov 15, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers guard Brandin Cummings (3) dribbles the ball against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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Pittsburgh Panthers

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers freshman guard Brandin "Beebah" Cummings has had an excellent first campaign so far and received recognition for his play last week.

Cummings finished with a career-high 30 points in the 96-56 win over Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 11. He shot 10-for-13, 76.9%, from the field and 6-for-8, 75%, from 3-point range, having an incredibly efficient night to help the Panthers blowout their mid-major foe.

He had to come on early, as sophomore guard Jaland Lowe picked up two fouls with a little more than two minutes played in the first half.

Cummings would score the first 12 points of the game and finished the first half with 17 points, breaking his career-high. He then added another 13 points in the second half, shooting 5-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range, to have an outstanding night.

Cummings earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors, the first of his career and first Pitt player to do so this season.

He is the fourth Pitt player to earn the honor, with Carlton "Bub" Carrington doing so four times last season, forward Justin Champagnie doing so twice in the 2019-20 season and Trey McGowens also doing it twice in the 2018-19 season.

𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗞𝗜𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗞:

😼 Brandin Cummings, @Pitt_MBB

🔗 https://t.co/Vyr3uoutJp pic.twitter.com/30MXkkAWZN
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) December 16, 2024

Cummings is just the fourth player to score 30 points as a freshman in Pitt history, joining Xavier Johnson, McGowens and Champagnie, tying him for the third most points in a game for a freshman at Pitt.

He also scored 30 points in 30 minutes, giving him a point per minute, tying him for the sixth most efficient game for a Pitt player who scored 30 points or more in a game.

Cummings excelled at nearby Lincoln Park in Midland, Pa., winning three WPIAL Titles, back-to-back PIAA Titles as a junior and senior and scored 2,222 points in his high school career.

He is the brother former Pitt player Nelly Cummings, who also played for Lincoln Park and his final season of college basketball in 2022-23 for Pitt, where he got the program back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.

Cummings is averaging 7.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game this season, making an appearance in all 11 contests so far. He is also shooting 50.9% from the field, 41.2% from 3-point range and 75.0% from the foul line as well.

Pitt will continue to look for Cummings to produce with graduate student guard Damian Dunn still out for at least three weeks.

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Published Dec 16, 2024