Second Senior Day Comes with Deeper Meaning for Pitt G Nelly Cummings
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PITTSBURGH -- This isn't Nelly Cummings' first rodeo. His Senior Night celebrations this weekend will be the second of his college basketball career. The former Colgate Raider turned Pitt Panther is approaching the second final home game of his career but this one will be different.
Cummings grew up in Western Pennsylvania, he knows the rich history of Pitt basketball well, having grown up watching this program's glory days from the stands of the Petersen Events Center and his connections to the region and program will be reflected in the many friends and family that will attend the Syracuse game to watch the true final home game of his career. This Senior Night will mean more.
“I think the biggest difference should be that I think I had six people at my last senior night and this time it’ll feel like thousands, I’ll have - obviously my family will be here - but I think thousands of people that I’ve known genuinely for a long time here.”
Cummings will bookend his amateur basketball career with proud moments at the Petersen Events Center. Before he was an adult handing out buckets to everyone in the ACC, he was in the back gym of he arena, practicing with his third grade AAU team and working out with the legends of that era.
“I was in the mix," Cummings said. "I was literally in the gym passing the ball back and forth with them, I was in the drills with them. I got some stories. I gave Sam Young a bucket when I was really young. I got good stories like that. I was around for sure.”
The Pete is truly home to Cummings and his teammates have become family. He said the bonds built in competition and adversity this season have allowed him to grow close with his teammates of less than a year quickly. Cummings feels an especially close connection to this senior class - Jamarius Burton, Nike Sibande, Aidan Fisch and Greg Elliot - which is loaded with fellow transfers who have not spent four years in Pittsburgh either.
“They mean the world to me," Cummings said. "In this short time we’ve been together they’re my brothers for life. We’ve bonded around a lot of adversity and other things. We’re really like brothers so it’s going to mean a lot for us to all walk across that court one last time and really give it our all together one last time here.”
Cummings can't afford to get too sentimental, however. There is a tall task ahead of him. The Panthers are vying for the top seed in the ACC as the postseason approaches. He saw Virginia fall to Boston College on the road this week, which gave his team new life in pursuit of the regular season title.
“Yeah, I watched the game," Cummings said. "So it definitely registered in my mind. We’re in a great position for everything we’ve ever wanted. I think we can continue to handle things day by day and we’re be in great position come March.”
When he arrived in Pittsburgh after transferring from Colgate this offseason, Cummings said he wanted to "bring the soul" back to Pitt basketball. 20 wins later, Cummings feels he's done that by helping bring great crowds back to the Petersen Events Center and putting the Panthers in position to capture the top seed in the conference tournament, but he isn't satisfied.
There is still work to be done and when asked how he wants this team to be remembered, Cummings put it simply.
"Champions."
The Panthers can move one step closer to their championship aspirations with a win over the Orange on Senior Night.
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