Is Pancake an upgrade from DD?

[pablo]

Ok, it's the slow season for the board, so here's an opportunity for another barely relevant discussion ;))
Many of us were big on Dunning last preseason but he never got much playing time to prove those with lofty expectations of his performance right or wrong. I still like Dunning but based on some reports think Pancake may produce more in his Lobo frosh year and his career. Sooooo.....whadaya here? whadaya say? Will Pancake shock and amaze Lobo fans or will he also have limited opportunity to prove himself (fall flat :) ). Will he force the issue by kicking so much arse in practice that he has to play? Will he flatten his opponents or will they "eat" him for breakfast (sorry)? You make the call.......

[judas_priest]

This is like discussing the quality of the meal before it is served. Food for thought.

[Jeffinthe505]

I predict Alford will make the right decision.

[MWCfan]

This is like discussing the quality of the meal before it is served. Food for thought.

Agreed. You can tell discussions are at an off season low. Post the question in February and have a real discussion.

[Darkside]

Dunning (and his dad) overestimated his ability and therefore were not able to accept his role. If this guy is satisfied with the PT he receives, he is an upgrade.

[pablo]

You can say the exact same thing about any discussion about the upcoming season. Work with me, here. But please dont get syrupy. Hey, do you remember all the preseason discussions on DD last season. You have to admit that speculation is fun. Isnt the 'starting five' discussion in exactly the same category. It's fun, ok?
This is like discussing the quality of the meal before it is served. Food for thought.

[ThreePointShot]

This is like discussing the quality of the meal before it is served. Food for thought.
Perfect analogy. We just don't know enough about him yet.

[LoboMike]

If Pancake can shoot the ball at all, he will be an upgrade. In Alford's system, you need to have the threat of the jump shot at the guard position. Dunning's shooting was his biggest weakness.

[Roob]

I've already forgotten Pancake's real name.

[LoboMike]

I've already forgotten Pancake's real name.

It's Cincinnati, er Cleveland, Thomas. C'mon man.

[Roob]

It's Cincinnati, er Cleveland, Thomas. C'mon man.

For reals? Isn't Cleveland a cartoon character - a spinoff from the Family Guy show? We need to recruit a Peter Griffin next year.

[LoboMike]

For reals? Isn't Cleveland a cartoon character - a spinoff from the Family Guy show? We need to recruit a Peter Griffin next year.

Yup, we could call him the "Cleveland Show" instead of "Pancake" if he tears it up.

[MichLobo]

If Pancake can shoot the ball at all, he will be an upgrade. In Alford's system, you need to have the threat of the jump shot at the guard position. Dunning's shooting was his biggest weakness.

Last season he was 12-24 from the field and 1-4 from three. I don't think he played nearly enough to label him a bad shooter. and with the limited minuets he had those numbers aren't bad. not a fair assessment. I think DD was just behind Fenton and Greenwood and its going to be tough to get minuets at the point guard in our program right now.

[Roob]

Yup, we could call him the "Cleveland Show" instead of "Pancake" if he tears it up.

Nice Scott Galetti thanks you.

[LoboMike]

Last season he was 12-24 from the field and 1-4 from three. I don't think he played nearly enough to label him a bad shooter. and with the limited minuets he had those numbers aren't bad. not a fair assessment. I think DD was just behind Fenton and Greenwood and its going to be tough to get minuets at the point guard in our program right now.

DD was not/is not a PG. He was behind Kendall, Tony, DWalk and PMac more so. Shooting was his known weakness coming in. Regardless of whatever happened in mop up minutes last year.

We've moved on. He's at Irvine. I think Pancake will be better. Still a tough rotation to get minutes in, however.

[burquesid]

Dunning (and his dad) overestimated his ability and therefore were not able to accept his role. If this guy is satisfied with the PT he receives, he is an upgrade.

Ding ding. +1,000,000

[xanthos93]

An upgrade? That means we willingly traded up. Poor choice of words. He was a top, if not the top, player on a state championship team from a state with arguably much better talent than ours. Yeah, I guess you could say we recruited well and, more importantly, he seemingly is a great, not just good, fit in Alford/Neal scheme of things. I'm very happy with 'the trade'.

[Gonzlobo]

Originally Posted by Darkside
Dunning (and his dad) overestimated his ability and therefore were not able to accept his role. If this guy is satisfied with the PT he receives, he is an upgrade.

Yep

[pablo]

up·grade/ˈəpˌgrād/

Not sure where you got your definition of 'upgrade' as meaning 'to trade'. You must be hanging out at too many car dealerships......:disappointed:


Verb:


Raise (something) to a higher standard, in particular improve (equipment or machinery) by adding or replacing components.


Noun:

An act of upgrading something.



Synonyms:


verb. improve - better - ameliorate - promote

noun. ascent - rise - climb

An upgrade? That means we willingly traded up. Poor choice of words. He was a top, if not the top, player on a state championship team from a state with arguably much better talent than ours. Yeah, I guess you could say we recruited well and, more importantly, he seemingly is a great, not just good, fit in Alford/Neal scheme of things. I'm very happy with 'the trade'.

[Garishwolf]

is Quizno's better than Subway? or Jimmy John's? Can Roob make a sandwich?

[pablo]

I think the sandwich would have to be a Rooben
is Quizno's better than Subway? or Jimmy John's? Can Roob make a sandwich?

[colt6bt]

I really don't see the connection. Does anyone think that we signed Pancake because Dunning transfered? Remember that Dunning committed early in his high school career to a team that looked significantly different when he showed up on campus. This is what the guard lineup looked like when Dunning committed. Sr's Phillip McDonald and Nate Garth, Jr's Jamaal Fenton and Curtis Dennis, Sophmores, Tony Snell had just committed, but there were no other big name guards showing much interest on the list. We all felt at the time he would get lots of PT. But things changed pretty quickly, Nate Garth transfers when we signed Kendall Williams late, who goes on to be named the MWC Freshman of the Year. Demetrius Walker transfers from ASU, and is set to become eligible for Dunnings Freshman year. Dunning was probably a little nervous at that point, but early in the 10-11 season Dennis transfers opening up a slot for Mr Greenwood late in the signing period to finish off the recruiting class. Recap: playing time with McDonald, Fenton, Garth, Dennis, = l like my chances to compete for minutes. Playing time with Williams, Greenwood, Walker, McDonald, Fenton (all guys who started games last year) = I would not sign with this team if I thought I was going to get immeadeate playing time. The team Dunning thought he was committing to looked a whole lot different when he got here. Pancake on the other hand signed a LOI to play on this team. So I guess if he comes in and takes a starting position from out of nowhere like Kendall did a few years ago then you have the answer to your question. If he only gets limited time on the court, then you have nothing to gauge on whether or not we got an upgrade. I really hope Pancake has Jamaal Fenton's attitude. In coach's words, "He's just here to play." I think you'll have to wait a few years to answer this question, but I look for Pancake and Hugh to be a lethal combo in 2015.

[Roob]

I think the sandwich would have to be a Rooben

I like sangwiches.

[PTR]

All of this upgrade talk is pretty much a moot point. Dunning left because he wanted to play more and if we read between the lines seemed hesitant to redshirt, despite the team being deep at the 2 guard. Had he redshirted it probably would have given him a real shot to log significant minutes as a Junior, and even start as a Senior. The kid and his Dad didn't want to wait, now he's an Anteater and I wish him the best of luck. Hopefully the Thomas kid will be willing both work hard (like Dunning did) but also to wait his turn to get his minutes, because unless the reincarnation (figure of speech) of Micheal Cooper walks through the door, I doubt any newcomer is going to get much time at the 1, the 2 or the 3.

[UNMerciful_1]

Dunning (and his dad) overestimated his ability and therefore were not able to accept his role. If this guy is satisfied with the PT he receives, he is an upgrade.

I don't think they overestimated his ability at all. I think he's a very talented player. But perhaps they just underestimated the ability of the other guards on our roster. As good as he was, he wasn't better than Tony, Kendall, DWalk, or Phil.

[JulieG]

Pancake knows who is in front of him and is a FRESHMAN this year. He can certainly be someone who with the right skills can be playing quite a bit when he is a Sophomore and starting as a Junior. I think we might even see a lot of him this year. I think we are comparing apples and oranges. Dommo could have have a lot of time on the court with a redshirt year. I doubt that he is going to be playing in the NBA so an extra year to build your skills and get a lot of school behind you should be important. But, then again, that is me thinking, not a 19 year old...

[TheLoboMan]

Freshmen come in thinking they can play right away. Coach tells them if they work hard they will get a chance to play and to start. DD didn't get to play because he had some serious players in front of him. DD was and is extremely talented and above all that has a great basketball IQ where Kendall is his only equal on this team.

DD left because he saw the writing on the wall that playing time was going to be hard to come by. He is a competitor big time and isn't going to wait til he is a junior to get significant playing time. Someone that talented needs to move on and I bet Coach agreed with him.

Jerry Tarkanians teams were built on 3 great players 2 good players 2 solid players and players to help the GPA. He didn't want any issues about playing time and trying to keep players happy. It worked.

[indwelling3]

Maybe a better question to ask is: if Pancake gets the same amount of playing time this coming season as DD got last season will Pancake be around for his soph year? Youngsters can be wowed by the Pit and the coaching staff but hard reality sets in when the All-Everything in HS rides the pine during games and is a practice dummy otherwise

[MacLobo]

Pancake will get more minutes than DD IMO....PMac's minutes have to go somewhere. Plus, I think we'll run more 4 guard line-ups at times. He'll get his share minutes if he can play D. If he can score, too....that's just a bonus!

[indwelling3]

I see Chad and Nick ahead of Pancake at the three spot behind TS.

[Howler]

I see Chad and Nick ahead of Pancake at the three spot behind TS.

I really don't see Nick getting minutes at the '3'. On a team this loaded with guards and this thin with 'bigs' I see all of Nick's minutes this season coming at the '4'. Even most of Chad's minutes will probably be as the 4th guard in a 4-guard line-up, though he is far more likely to get minutes at the '3' than Nick is.

[indwelling3]

When does Coach go to the four guard lineup? As well as Alex and Cam are playing this summer I have to see them in the starting lineup. Does coach go four guard when one of them needs a blow or is foul trouble? Does the four guard set include Hugh-Kendall-DWalk-Tony? OR does the four guard set come into play only against a team of gazelles? I do see playing time for Chad and Nick as "stretch fours."

[Burro lobo]

Both Nick and Williams were more the athletic 3 or 4 that we are looking for and we really don't know how that will work. Nick will have to play bigger(size) than I think he was recruited, unless we get a big dropped into our pot. I too was excited/sad about DD, I think he would have eventually played a big part with the Lobos, but he's gone and Pancake is here, so now I'm all Pancake and everything I hear about him seems to be good and I think he will play right into the Lobo guard rotation and soon too. I think we really need that last big man and I hope we get him, come on Pelle get it together and become that last key we need!

[wolf1960]

we cannot compare one player's ability to one who transfered, Pancake is from a different part of the USA. He has played against some rugged tough bigs in the videos we saw. I am hoping one of the big bigs will follow him from Lousiana to the PIT to join his mates.. LOOK TO THE FUTURE it is looking great. Pancake plays a different brand of ball, I see him as a tough guy player..

[BrutusXXX]

Cleveland Thomas will be on the court plenty for the Lobos. He is too talented to keep on the bench. Alford is going 10-11 deep again this season and he will not be left out of the mix.

[Loboholic]

I got to go see open gym a few times this summer and I can tell you from first hand that "Cake" is the real deal. Great handles, he drives well to the hoop and a solid mid-range game and some KILLER hops - the guy can flat out finish above the rim. Agree with the posts above that said he's going to be hard to keep off the court, provided he gets a bit more solid on the defensive end.

Based on what I've seen (and compared to what I saw last year during open gym) I can't see him stuck riding pine like Dommo did (not a knock on DD...just an assessment).