Back on April 1, the Pitt hoops program earned a commitment from hometown star Nelly Cummings, who previously starred for Colgate.
The Midland, PA native posted averages of 14.7 points and 3.4 assists per game as a Raider last season, leading the team to a Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament Appearance. Individually, he earned First Team All-Patriot League honors after the stellar senior campaign.
Cummings now joins a Pitt squad with veteran experience in the back court (Jamarius Burton, Nike Sibande, Greg Elliott), a star big in John Hugley, and a solid supporting cast in year five of the Jeff Capel era.
Although he is making the jump to a high-major conference, big-time ball is nothing new to Cummings. In last season’s NCAA Tournament appearance against Wisconsin, he scored 20 points, dished out six assists, and also grabbed six rebounds. In a loss to NC State earlier in the year, he posted 19 points and three rebounds. Against Syracuse? 18 points, 7 assists. Against Pitt, 17 points, 3 assists. Cummings is ready for the jump.
“I am very comfortable running the point,” Cummings said after the game. Especially with those types of guys who set those good screens. They get me open, so I’m able to make decisions seamlessly when they’re setting screens.”
Cummings on feeding off of his teammates in Pitt’s recent exhibition win:
“I think that’s going to be our thing this year. We’ve got to share the ball; we’ve all got to contribute. We can’t be just a one-man team. So, we all have to be able to contribute in multiple different ways – scoring, assisting, playing defense, and everything. This is a together unit, and that’s what we’re going to continue doing every single time we play.”
