Pitt Duo Rise up ESPN's Top 100 Prospects

Two Pitt Panthers rose up the NBA Draft top 100 prospects for ESPN, as they await their future less than a week away.

Feb 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Blake Hinson (2) and guard Carlton Carrington (7) celebrate after Hinson hit a three point basket to break the forty point mark against the Louisville Cardinals during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. Pittsburgh won 86-59. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers have two players represented on the 2024 NBA Draft top 100 prospects list from ESPN.

This includes both guard Carlton "Bub" Carrington and forward Blake Hinson who made the list, with Carrington ranking at No. 19 and Hinson at No. 73. Both players improved their ranking from the last ESPN top 100 prospects list, with Carrington moving up one spot from 20 and Hinson going from just making the cut at No. 100 to a 27-place increase.

Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo gave strengths, weaknesses and a verdict for all of the100 NBA Draft prospects. The list is also not a mock draft, but where they view how good every player is amongst each other.

They like Carrington's floor game and his size for a guard, with his late growth spurt helping him rise up the list as strengths. They saw his physical growth throughout the season, but still think he needs to fill out his frame more and shoot 3-pointers with more consistency for his weaknesses.

"Carrington's size, feel and midrange game won him a lot of fans last season, as he has a unique maturity for a young guard who was not expected to carry the additional pressure of being one-and-done this season," they wrote for the verdict. "He might not be an overwhelming athlete, but he is on an interesting trajectory as a big guard who did some nice things operating out of the pick-and-roll."

Givony and Woo praised Hinson as "the most prolific shooting forward in the power conference ranks this past season." Hinson shot 42.1% from 3-point range and made 110 shots from behind the arc, the latter a program record.

For his weaknesses, they looked at the fact that he doesn't fit either small forward or power forward perfectly, fluctuating between both positions. He doesn't have the size of a true power forward, standing at around 6-foot-7, and doesn't have the "explosiveness" of a true wing/small forward. They also didn't care for his defensive play and that he isn't the greatest rebounder either.

"Hinson might not look the part, but his scoring instincts and shooting versatility stood out at Pittsburgh last season as he ranked among the most efficient first options in college basketball, giving him a coveted niche he can hang his hat on in the NBA," they wrote for the verdict.

Pitt has not had a player receive an NBA Draft selection since the Atlanta Hawks took forward Lamar Patterson with the No. 48 overall pick in the Second Round in 2014.

Panthers star freshman guard Bub Carrington received an NBA Draft green room invite, where his family will join him at the Barclays Center for the First Round, as he is likely to go in the top 20 overall picks.

Hinson hopes to try and get one of the last of the 58 picks in the NBA Draft, but if he doesn't, he'll hope to get a spot on a G-League roster with a chance to make it on an NBA roster in the future.

If both Carrington and Hinson both earn NBA Draft selections, it would serve as the first time since 1988 that Pitt had two players do so in an NBA Draft. Forward Charles Smith went No. 3 overall to the Philadelphia 76ers who traded the pick to the Los Angeles Clippers, while fellow forward Jerome Lane went No. 23 overall to the Denver Nuggets. 

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