Pankey
by kckb8 on Feb 22, 2012 3:34 PM EST
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PrintIn a recent fanpost, tiimbitz suggests that Dodd's commitment foreshadows attrition of some sort. Many in the comments section of that post have suggested that Ashton Pankey will be the one to transfer, though I just don't see that happening. Keep in mind he is only a RS Freshman and is also getting significant minutes, not to mention the fact that he has had spurts of good-if-not-great play.
Commenters are also indicating that they have been dissatisfied with Pankey's defense in the low post. While he certainly has room to improve in that regard, he is also the only big body that we have at this point that is ready and willing to bang with the big dogs. And he has been fairly successful at that (when the guy isn't an NBA caliber 7-footer, a la Tyler Zeller).
Case in point: Reggie Johnson, a preseason candidate for ACC Player of the Year, went 1-5 against Maryland, with Pankey guarding him the majority of the game. Granted, Johnson only played 15 minutes, but Pankey's toughness and tenacity really got him off his game. So kudos to Pankey for that.
As for speculation regarding who the transfer may be, please be cautious. We all know where careless speculation has gotten us in the past: nowhere. (See: Stephenson, Lance; Leach, Mike; and Miller, Sean.)
So rather than assuming that Turge is bringing in Dodd because of attrition, let's trust that he has found a diamond in the rough that could turn into a solid contributor by his junior and senior years. I for one welcome Damonte Dodd to TerpNation with open arms!
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I think everyone welcomes Dodd
and is hopeful about what he can do. Even if he’s just another Boom Osby, that would be fun (I know they are 100% different players, but I just mean someone we can totally love).
The reason people suspect Pankey might leave is because he might be behind Len, Shaq, and Padge in the rotation, and his body language and actions have been suspect at times. I would agree that at times he doesn’t appear to be all-in.
Last night was probably his best defensive game I’ve seen from him all year. He’s been abused even when not playing against people like Zeller. Hopefully emotional wins like last nights will keep players like Pankey from wanting to leave.
but
i think pankey came in knowing he was a 4 year player. padge will be gone after one year, so as the roster stands, he will be in a 3 man rotation with len and shaq for two positions by his jr year. i think he has alot of room to improve and shouldnt be concerned with playing time at this point.
by (adm)iregary on Feb 22, 2012 3:50 PM EST up reply actions
Thank You
I was thinking the samething this morning after I read the news.(Diamond in the ruff…) I did some research on this kid
& he is putting up some crazy numbers & he has great size !!!! & imo I think Turge is loading up so that we can compete with the .pukes unc & Syracuse next year the Acc in about to be The power conference agin Let’s Go Terps!!!!!! Add a pg & were Good
I'm awfully tired of the Pankey hate around here.
I’ve said it all before, and I’ll say it again. This kid is effectively a freshman who hadn’t played organized basketball for roughly two years before this season started. We would normally never be this hard on a freshman struggling to find his game, but for some reason it’s ok to trash Pankey?
He is definitely invisible at times on offense, and he has had a number of games where his defense has left something to be desired. But he owned Reggie Johnson last night (when he was actually in the game), and he has occasionally played some strong, physical defense. Do people really think that with another year or two of development that Pankey couldn’t be a strong contributor to this team?
I’m definitely not saying that he won’t transfer – it seems to be a reasonable possibility. But as a collective fanbase, I think we need to back off of him a little bit and let him develop.
by Mike S. on Feb 22, 2012 3:49 PM EST reply actions 2 recs
I have never once complained about his game, only his attitude. The former is supposed to be a work in progress during your freshman year, the latter shouldn’t be.
This is a valid argument.
His body language has been poor at times and sometimes his level of effort suffers – no argument here. But I can’t imagine this is something that can’t be improved, particularly with a coach like Turgeon. I’m not guaranteeing improvement, but I’m not willing to give up on this guy like a lot of others here have.
Agree with nmprisons
I’ll be the first to admit that I am on the Pankey is the most likely to transfer bandwagon, but it isn’t because of his play. HIs attitude on the court is terrible at times, the body language sucks, and sometimes he flat out looks disinterested in playing.
He has the raw skill there to play on the D-1 Level, I just question whether he wants to do that at MD or somewhere else.
I heard Turge say somewhere
(maybe on his radio show?) that he didn’t like Pankey’s disinterested kind of attitude at first, but then he realized that Pankey is just one of those types of guys—more laid back than fiery. So his body language doesn’t necessarily mean he’s disinterested.
by GayleG on Feb 22, 2012 11:08 PM EST via Android app up reply actions
I hope that is true
First time I’ve heard it though. Pankey definitely looks completely disinterested though at times.
I really hope Pankey doesn’t transfer, and I don’t see a reason for him to. Considering his situation, he’s doing pretty well. For a kid who hasn’t played in such a long time he’s doing pretty well. Throw in the fact that he’s got three more years of eligibility, I’m pretty excited to see what he can amount to by the time he’s done at UMD. If he can consistently play like he did against the VTech in the first half (a few points, 10 boards iirc) then he could be a great player for the Terps.
WAIT A MINUTE!!!
Why is it that even after all the speculation that we were going to sign another big man for the 2012 class (namely and probably preferrably Charles Mitchell) that now all of a sudden there has to be attrition? I just don’t get it! We were going to get another big man all along, however, because its not Charles Mitchell or Phil Nolan or some other “big name”, there has to be some attrition involved? I don’t get it. Maybe just maybe, Dodd is that big man that Turge wanted to add to this class. I will trust his judgement on talent rather then lead on to my own understanding.
by KonartistNupe on Feb 22, 2012 4:11 PM EST reply actions 3 recs
Good Call
I don’t get all the attrition talk either. I think we expected some attrition just because that is usually how things work when you bring in a new coach, but attrition because of another BIG, when bringing in bigs is a priority doesn’t make sense. It was either going to be Mitchell, Nolan, or a Big from 2013, so why would that scare a player that has A. Experience B. PT already???
*All Terp Everything*
Any good college team has 5-6 players who can play the 4 or 5.
With Dodd, we will only have 5 scholarship players who can rotate the 4-5 position. (Thanks bball for your most useful chart).
For me, Ashton Pankey has dome a commendable job this year, and will be even better next year. After missing 2 years of D-1 basketball, I think he has done a better than expected job overall. Anyone who can play with Reggie Johnson is a man among boys.
I watched Bob Huggins coach his WVA team a couple weeks ago, and they didn’t even use a sub in the 2nd half until only 19 seconds were left in the game. His players were exhausted, and wound up losing by a couple points.
You win with depth, and Turge is building on this, 1 year at a time.
Last night pankey got kicked in the jaw while on the floor, got up and hustled down the court to swish a jumper.
Just had to give him props for that play.
I predict he becomes a badass post player by next year. He was awesome yesterday
That was an awesome play.
And that’s something I look at that tells me:
A) He wants to be in a Terps uniform and help us win.
B) He will be a significant contributor for years to come. (Especially if he continues to develop that midrange game, a la Dino.)
Also, the fact that he is a freaking FRESHMAN cannot be ignored. Len, Faust, and Pankey in a single class? That’s a heck of a lot of potential.
@kckb8 ... #getatme
I'm with you on that freshman point
The Terps never used that as an excuse, a la BC, who had to point out every game that they were starting 5 freshmen. And they still play like it, too.
by Snappin Terp on Feb 22, 2012 5:03 PM EST up reply actions
I am liking Pankey more and more
he is/has improving greatly and will be a beast by his Jr/Sr year. I hope AP stays because he is a beast and will only get better (think Osby his Jr/ Sr years)!
You make my pee-pee maker t-t-tingle.
by Hey Yo! on Feb 22, 2012 5:59 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
do not give up on Pankey
He just needs a little bit more of Turge’s “guidance” on technique down low. Did anyone notice the contested lay-ins and close in shots last night? The guys, incl. AP, were getting after the big men in the 2nd half. I wish Reggie was in there to taste a dose of Padge and Pankey’s defense. No more free lunches down low.
"A new era has dawned in Maryland Athletics..."
Pankey is are only YOUNG big man that shows any signs of promise....
he’s tall, athletic, and can rebound. All he needs to do is development a little more of an offensive game, gain some experience, and get stronger, and this kid will be an 11 and 7 kinda guy by the time he’s a junior/senior. As of now, if someone said I had to drop one YOUNG BIG man from this team, and it was between him and Len, I’d say Len in a second.
You mean the guy
that many people project as an NBA lottery pick some day?
@kckb8 ... #getatme
Yes....that guy.
As of now….Pankey is playing better then Len and showing more potential….end of story. Projections mean dick if you don’t put up stats.
Gotta disagree with choosing Pankey over Len
and I am pretty sure Len is putting up slightly better numbers across the board
by HeroOfTheDay on Feb 23, 2012 10:31 AM EST up reply actions
rl09978
The immaturity of your argument makes you lose a lot of credibility on the matter.
As college freshman, POTENTIAL > CURRENT STATS.
As far as I can see, Len has much more upside. That said, I’d like to see both Len and Pankey stay for three more years.
@kckb8 ... #getatme
However....
I still love Len…..but his lack of speed KILLS us on defense. Whenever he is at the top of the key, he get’s burnt almost every time. Add that with his lack of any offensive game, and Turgeon may have himself more of a project on his hands then once expected.
I would characterize Pankey's play as inconsistent.
Kinda like Faust…especially early in the season. With more PT, he’ll become more consistent.
True....but he's a FRESHMAN!
so you got to cut him some slack…..
Exactly my point...
…Pankey is a 3-star freshman who hadn’t played a basketball game for two year…i would have expected inconsistency.
doubt it
he’s seen a bunch more playing time this year and improved vastly over the limited playing time last year. He’ll be here all four years, if he continues to improve at this rate he’ll have the backup spot locked down behind Faust next year. We might only see Layman in limited minutes if Parker continues to improve.
Pankey's a keeper
He’s way ahead of where Padgett and Dino were as freshmen. Remember that Turgeon said he was our best big man early on. He can make free throws, shoot a midrange shot and get some boards. And he’s made some big defensive plays — I remember he blocked two shots at the end of one of our early scares this year.
He needs to get stronger, which he surely will. And he needs Padgett to teach him some low-post moves. He also does zone out at times, but I expect Turgeon will fix that over time.
He’ll never be a star, but he’ll be a valuable contributor while he’s here.
dino is a really, realy good comparison...
after a few games everyone said he wasn’t even D1 material. now he’s one of our favorite terps. not for his 30 pt games but he was a gamer and he developed bigtime. remember we were all absolute idiots when we graduated high school. no offense to pankey, but he shows Lots of potential.
gregory: 6’ 7" 190. pankey 6’ 9" 210 and coming off serious injury. gregory didn’t even average a point a game during his freshman season and got only about 7 minutes a game. his only competition down low was boom, gist & braxton dupree… —and while len is our big man defender/shot blocker, pankey is our tough guy defensive enforcer who can score when given opportunities.
And just like with Dino (and Landon)...
my hope is that Pankey can develop an automatic 15 ft jumpshot by his junior year.
@kckb8 ... #getatme
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