CSI: Syracuse. Remember back to your high school days. If you were found with a stolen cell phone, the natural move would be to simply switch schools right?
Normally, no (unless there’s a new anti-theft homing device app on the iPhone).¬†But for this prospective Orange, the move turned out to be pretty beneficial.
Ashton Pankey, a 6’8″ 215 lb. forward in the class of ’10 from New York City now plays for the legendary Bob Hurley at St. Anthony high school in New Jersey.
Just reading about Pankey gets the mind Fizzing about a former SU star who projects like this:
“Pankey has very good length and a frame that has the capacity to develop even more in the muscle and strength department… Pankey also contests shots very well with his length and leaping ability and could develop into an interior force if he gets stronger… Pankey has a nice shooting stroke from the perimeter and can hit shots comfortably from around the free-throw line area of the floor.”
Hakim Jr. perhaps?
Hankey says he switched to St. Anthony because he wanted a stricter coach and thought Hurley, a 900-game winner, would be that guy.
Surely it helps that Hurley was a freaking probation officer until January.
And likely the fact St. Anthony travels the country playing elite tournaments and gets ESPN exposure at least once a year has nothing to do with it.
But his ability to work inside and finish despite not being as muscular as some of his counterparts can set him apart in the future.
Pankey dropped his scoring average from around 15 ppg his sophomore season at Molloy to about 8 ppg at St. Anthony, but surely played less minutes with better talent around him.
With another year to add some meat to his frame and his game, he could be punking people around the Big East for years to come.
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Fizz Football News: Score Doug Marrone’s first Big East win as coming off the football field.
The Orange snatched away highly sought-after playmaker Steven Rene from the rest of the region.
The RB/DB from Canarsie High School in Brooklyn was being recruited by Rutgers, Pitt, UConn and Boston College.
Oregon was also in on Rene, which is strange geographically since the West Coast is loaded with athletes. But The Ducks love the spread and fueling a high-powered offense. Likely says something about Rene’s ability that a top-tier Pac-10 school was after him.
Rene also had offers from Temple (egads), Hofstra (D-1AA) and Stony Brook (I mean, really?).
