Kentucky kid, Penick, seriously considering BG
Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 2:14 pm
I read this article and thought I'd pass this on. Penick sounds like a rebounding monster. He has been consistently rated in the top 25 hoops recruits that will come out of Kentucky this year.
http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 014/NEWS02
Controlling the boards
Ludlow center Penick has averaged 16.5 rebounds
By Terry Boehmker
Post staff reporter
Dan Penick was the leading rebounder in Northern Kentucky boys' high school basketball last season. The 6-foot-9 Ludlow center felt pretty good about his ability on the boards until he joined a statewide all-star team during the summer. "The first day of practice our coach said I was big, but I didn't know how to use my body as good as I could," recalled Penick. "He said if I put a couple moves together and hustled, I'll get even more off the boards." Penick followed the coach's advice and pulled down 66 rebounds in Ludlow's first four games this season for a 16.5 average. He snagged 27 rebounds in a win against Bellevue last Friday, but Ludlow coach Cory Highfield wasn't able to confirm if it was a team record. "I can't say for sure, but no one here (at Ludlow) seems to remember anyone pulling down more than that in a game," Highfield said.
Penick said he was shocked when he heard his rebounding total after the game. "I didn't realize I had that many at all," he said. "Some of our players said I was being stingy and taking the ball out of their hands. I don't really see the people around me. I just go after the ball."
Penick will be the tallest player on the court in most of Ludlow's games so there's a good chance he'll surpass the 11.5 rebounding average he had last season. "I don't really think about that," he said of his height advantage. "I just hustle getting to the boards. That's my thing this year. I told myself I was going to get more rebounds. It's something I take a lot of pride in."
Penick did more than dominate the boards in the Panthers' first four games. He's also averaging 14.8 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 blocks. "For a kid his size, he's got a lot of athletic ability," Highfield said. "He dribbles the ball well and passes it well. There's a lot of times when he's double-teamed and he's been able to find an open guy who was able to score."
Penick's size and athletic ability make him one of the top college prospects in Northern Kentucky boys' basketball this season. He said coaches at Boston College and Northeastern University in Boston have contacted him, but Bowling Green State University in Ohio is the team showing the most interest. A recruiter from Bowling Green came to Ludlow's home game on Tuesday and watched Penick get 16 points, 18 rebounds and five assists in a win against Calvary Christian. "He talked to me after the game," Penick said. "His actual words were, 'I think you'll fit in perfectly with coach (Dan) Dakich's system.' He said he didn't realize I had the passing ability that I have."
Most of Penick's assists have come off passes to 6-foot-6 senior forward Justin Hardin, a first-year starter in the Panthers' lineup. Hardin has been a double-figure scorer in Ludlow's last three games. He had a career-high 24 points in Tuesday's win against Calvary Christian. Penick said he worked out with Hardin during the summer and it's paying off in games. "He used to be real tentative, but now he's not afraid at all," Penick said. "I love it when teams double-down on me now because I can knock (the ball) out to him and he'll put it in."
Ludlow has a 2-2 record overall, but the Panthers are tied for first place in the Division III conference standings with Beechwood. The co-leaders will square off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ludlow. "Beechwood's got everybody back from last year and they're probably the leading contender in our conference," Highfield said. "It'll be a big game for us."
http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar ... 014/NEWS02
Controlling the boards
Ludlow center Penick has averaged 16.5 rebounds
By Terry Boehmker
Post staff reporter
Dan Penick was the leading rebounder in Northern Kentucky boys' high school basketball last season. The 6-foot-9 Ludlow center felt pretty good about his ability on the boards until he joined a statewide all-star team during the summer. "The first day of practice our coach said I was big, but I didn't know how to use my body as good as I could," recalled Penick. "He said if I put a couple moves together and hustled, I'll get even more off the boards." Penick followed the coach's advice and pulled down 66 rebounds in Ludlow's first four games this season for a 16.5 average. He snagged 27 rebounds in a win against Bellevue last Friday, but Ludlow coach Cory Highfield wasn't able to confirm if it was a team record. "I can't say for sure, but no one here (at Ludlow) seems to remember anyone pulling down more than that in a game," Highfield said.
Penick said he was shocked when he heard his rebounding total after the game. "I didn't realize I had that many at all," he said. "Some of our players said I was being stingy and taking the ball out of their hands. I don't really see the people around me. I just go after the ball."
Penick will be the tallest player on the court in most of Ludlow's games so there's a good chance he'll surpass the 11.5 rebounding average he had last season. "I don't really think about that," he said of his height advantage. "I just hustle getting to the boards. That's my thing this year. I told myself I was going to get more rebounds. It's something I take a lot of pride in."
Penick did more than dominate the boards in the Panthers' first four games. He's also averaging 14.8 points, 3.0 assists and 2.7 blocks. "For a kid his size, he's got a lot of athletic ability," Highfield said. "He dribbles the ball well and passes it well. There's a lot of times when he's double-teamed and he's been able to find an open guy who was able to score."
Penick's size and athletic ability make him one of the top college prospects in Northern Kentucky boys' basketball this season. He said coaches at Boston College and Northeastern University in Boston have contacted him, but Bowling Green State University in Ohio is the team showing the most interest. A recruiter from Bowling Green came to Ludlow's home game on Tuesday and watched Penick get 16 points, 18 rebounds and five assists in a win against Calvary Christian. "He talked to me after the game," Penick said. "His actual words were, 'I think you'll fit in perfectly with coach (Dan) Dakich's system.' He said he didn't realize I had the passing ability that I have."
Most of Penick's assists have come off passes to 6-foot-6 senior forward Justin Hardin, a first-year starter in the Panthers' lineup. Hardin has been a double-figure scorer in Ludlow's last three games. He had a career-high 24 points in Tuesday's win against Calvary Christian. Penick said he worked out with Hardin during the summer and it's paying off in games. "He used to be real tentative, but now he's not afraid at all," Penick said. "I love it when teams double-down on me now because I can knock (the ball) out to him and he'll put it in."
Ludlow has a 2-2 record overall, but the Panthers are tied for first place in the Division III conference standings with Beechwood. The co-leaders will square off at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ludlow. "Beechwood's got everybody back from last year and they're probably the leading contender in our conference," Highfield said. "It'll be a big game for us."