Hinton's sizzling July fires up Arkansas and many others

Nate Hinton

— Arkansas is in on one of the hottest players the AAU circuit had in July.

Gastonia, N.C., Gaston Day School guard Nate Hinton (6-6, 190) received a whopping 11 offers - including one from the Razorbacks - after leading his Team Loaded NC squad to the title game of the Adidas Gauntlet Finale in Spartanburg, S.C.

Hinton continued that fine play in Las Vegas last week in the Adidas Summer Championships and averaged 17 points, 5.2 assists and 6.8 rebounds during the month.

“Nate has been our leader all year long and that is something that you would expect from your point guard, but he takes leadership to another level,” Team Loaded NC head coach Derrick Wall said. “That’s why we got into the situation we did - one of eight teams playing in the Creator’s Cup as one of the best Adidas teams.

“The school that gets Nate is not only going to get a great player, but a great kid and a great leader.”

Hinton is pleased with Arkansas making contact with him this month and is genuinely interested.

“I know their playing style is real gritty,” Hinton said. “They always have a dog in them and are already pushing teams in the SEC like Kentucky and South Carolina. I know they are one of the toughest and best teams in the SEC.

“The coaches have been talking to me leading up to this point, continue to talk to me and I enjoy talking to them. I’m really interested in them.”

Arkansas joins Charlotte, Cincinnati, Creighton, Houston, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Old Dominion, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Seton Hall, Temple, Tulsa, VCU, Virginia Tech and Wichita State as some of the schools offering Hinton scholarships so far.

“I’m actually up to 37 offers right now, but I have an unofficial list of schools that I am really considering and that has 19 schools on it,” Hinton said. “I have been just trying to look at all of my options and now I will narrow it down.”

He scored 14 points in his final AAU game, which was a 93-74 loss to an Arkansas Hawks squad with three Razorback pledges on the roster.

His team went 3-2 in the Las Vegas event with Hinton showing off a well-rounded game.

“I work on my whole game all the time so I can be as versatile as I can be,” Hinton said. “If it is a smaller guard, I go to my post game and if it is a bigger guard, I can beat him off the dribble.

“My shot has improved, my mid-range jumper has come along, but I think getting to basket and my handles are the best parts of my game right now.”

Wall is a big fan of Hinton’s versatility.

“He knows how to take advantage of his size,” Wall said. “He also has a nice mid-range game that not a lot of kids do. He knows how to get to that sweet spot.”