Inside The Panthers

Former Pitt Players Kick Off NBA Season

Several former Pitt Panthers started their NBA seasons this week.
Theo Newhouse|
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-Imagn Images
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-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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Pittsburgh Panthers

As the college season nears closer, seven former Pitt Panthers basketball players begin their NBA seasons this week. Zack Austin, Bub Carrington, Justin Champagnie, Mo Gueye, Cam Johnson, Blake Hinson and Steven Adams.

Bub Carrington and Justin Champagnie

Carrington, Champagnie and the Washington Wizards started the season with a 133-120 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Carrington started and played 29 minutes, scoring 11 points while shooting 3-4 from deep. Champagnie averaged 21.6 minutes per game last year but only played 6 in the opener. In those 6, he grabbed 3 offensive rebounds and added an assist.

Bub
Sep 29, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards guard Bub Carrington (7) poses for a portrait during Wizards Media Day at CareFirst Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Zack Austin

The Oklahoma City Thunder recently waived rookie Zack Austin. Austin appeared in 4 preseason games with OKC against the Indianapolis Pacers, Dallas Mavericks and the Charlotte Hornets twice. His top performance came against the Mavericks where he scored 13 points, had 3 rebounds, 1 block, and a steal. He also had 3 blocks and 3 steals against the Pacers to go along with 5 points. However, he also racked up 5 personal fouls and 3 turnovers in that game.

Austin's 230 career collegiate blocks from both High Point(‘20-‘23) and Pitt(‘23-‘25) helped grab the attention of NBA scouts. He will suit up with the Oklahoma City Blue when the G-League season kicks off on Nov. 17.

Mo Gueye

Alongside Austin, Mouhamed Gueye is the only other Pitt Panther to lead the team in both blocks and three-pointers in a season. Gueye enters his third year with the Atlanta Hawks after starting 28 games last season. The Hawks lost to the Toronto Raptors 131-118 on Wednesday in their opener. Gueye played just 5 minutes but recorded a block.

Mo
Apr 10, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Mouhamed Gueye (18) looks to shoot a three point shot against the Brooklyn Nets during the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Cam Johnson

Cam Johnson enters the 2025-26 NBA season with the Denver Nuggets, he’s no stranger to changing threads. After playing his first three collegiate seasons with Pitt he hit the transfer portal and went to North Carolina for his last two. At Pitt he redshirted then played in 69 games, starting 34, averaging 8 points. At UNC he started 56/62 games and averaged 15 points before being selected 11th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns.

After 4 years with the Suns he was involved in the blockbuster trade that sent him to the Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant to Phoenix. Johnson thrived in Brooklyn and averaged over 18 points per game last season. He was traded to the Denver Nuggets over the offseason, he and the Nuggets kicked their season off last night against the Golden State Warriors.

Johnson scored 5 points and had 3 rebounds in the 137-131 OT loss vs the Warriors.

Steven Adams

Steven Adams has spent time with the Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies, and now the Houston Rockets. He was a nationally ranked top-10 recruit coming out of high school who spent his freshman year as one of the best Centers in not just the Big East but the country.

Adams was selected 12th overall  in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Thunder after his freshman year. He opened his 12th season with a loss to his original NBA team on Tuesday when the Thunder beat the Rockets 125-124. Adams racked up 13 rebounds and 4 points in 37 minutes.

Blake Hinson

Hinson
Mar 9, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Blake Hinson (2) goes to the basket past North Carolina State Wolfpack forward DJ Burns Jr. (30) during the second half at the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers won 81-73. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Portland Trailblazers waived Blake Hinson in late September. It appears that the Trailblazers will bring him back with its G-League affiliate, the Rip City Remix in Nov. Hinson averaged 20.1 points per game and ranked 3rd in all of the G-League in 3-pointers made last season. 

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Theo Newhouse
THEO NEWHOUSE

Theo Newhouse-Godine is a current student at Point Park University and a former DII student athlete at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He produces a podcast, Theo’s Tailgate, which highlights and features athletes from the Pittsburgh area. Theo is a lifelong Pittsburgh sports fan from the neighborhood of Highland Park and recently completed an internship with the Pittsburgh Downtown Media Partnership as an investigative journalist.

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