Former Lincoln Park star Nelly Cummings transferring to Pitt
Pitt basketball added a local product to its roster with the transfer of former Lincoln Park High School star Nelly Cummings to Jeff Capel’s program.
A 6-foot point guard with one season of eligibility remaining for 2022-23 with the Panthers, Cummings started 78 of the 79 games he played for Colgate the past three seasons. A three-time all-state player from 2014-17, Cummings led the Raiders in averaging 14.7 points per game this past season. He also was second on the team in assists (3.4 per game) and steals (1.1).
Cummings announced his intention to transfer via a video posted to his verified Twitter account captioned by “I’m Backkk #H2P,” the hashtag representing “Hail to Pitt.” Pitt basketball’s verified Twitter account retweeted Cummings’ video — which appeared to be produced by the athletic department — and also posted a gif of 2000s hip-hop star Nelly.
I’m Backkk ???????? #H2P pic.twitter.com/O0lTbiAYEE
— Nelly Cummings (@Ambition___0) April 1, 2022
Cummings seven times scored at least 20 points in a game in 2021-22, and he had 17 points in a narrow loss at the Petersen Events Center on Dec. 9.
Born in Midland, Cummings averaged 22 points and 6 assists per game over his four-year high school career. He was part of WPIAL and PIAA championship teams and played in three WPIAL championship games.
Cummings spent his 2017-18 freshman college season at Bowling Green, appearing in 30 games before transferring.
Colgate won the Patriot League and made the NCAA Tournament three of the four seasons Cummings was on the roster. Cummings had 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in a narrow loss to Wisconsin in a first-round game last month. He likewise lead the Raiders with 14 points in their first-round defeat to Arkansas last year.
The arrival of Cummings is Capel’s first step in rebuilding a roster for his fifth season as coach. The reported entry into the tranfer portal of guard Femi Odukale on Friday made it six players who transferred off of a team that went 11-21 and 6-14 in the ACC, including starting guards Ithiel Horton and Odukale.
Cumming’s younger brother, Brandin, is at Lincoln Park and was one of the WPIAL’s top sophomores. Wednesday, he posted on social media that he had been offered a scholarship by Pitt.
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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