American basketball player
Andrew John Panko III (born November 29, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player.[ 1] At 6'9" (2.06 m) tall, he primarily played the small forward and power forward positions.[ 2]
College career
After playing high school basketball at Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania , Panko played college basketball at Lebanon Valley College .[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
Professional career
Panko began his professional career in 1999 with the New Mexico Slam of the International Basketball League . He made his NBA debut with the Atlanta Hawks in 2001, playing just one minute in a single game.[ 7] Panko played for the Dakota Wizards of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) from 2002 to 2003. He was named the CBA Most Valuable Player and earned All-CBA First Team honors in 2003.[ 8] He was named the Spanish ACB League MVP in 2012, while playing with San Sebastián Gipuzkoa .[ 9]
In July 2012, he signed with the Greek Basket League / EuroLeague club Panathinaikos .[ 10] In December 2012, he was traded to Unicaja Malaga for James Gist .[ 11] At the end of the season he left Unicaja.[ 12]
On August 14, 2013, Panko signed with Baloncesto Fuenlabrada for the 2013–14 season.[ 13] On July 29, 2014, he agreed with Fuenlabrada to play one more season.[ 14] On May 30, 2015, he signed with Vaqueros de Bayamón of Puerto Rico for the rest of the 2015 BSN season.[ 15]
On July 17, 2015, Panko signed with French club SLUC Nancy Basket for the 2015–16 season.[ 16] On May 11, 2016, he re-joined the Vaqueros de Bayamón for the rest of the 2016 BSN season .[ 17]
On September 12, 2016, Panko signed with Mexican club Fuerza Regia .[ 18] He helped his team to win the 2016–17 LNBP championship.[ 19] On April 4, 2017, he signed with Guaros de Lara of Venezuela for the rest of the 2017 LPB season.[ 20] On July 27, 2017, he re-signed with Fuerza Regia for one more season.[ 21]
EuroLeague statistics
Awards and accomplishments
College career
3× NABC First-Team All-American: (1997, 1998, 1999)
3× MAC Most Valuable Player: (1997, 1998, 1999)
2× Division III National Player of the Year: (1998, 1999)
D3hoops.com All-Decade First Team: (2008)
D3hoops.com Player of the Decade: (2008)
Lebanon Valley College Athletic Hall of Fame: (2009)
Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame: (2020)[ 22]
Pro career
References
^ Falk, Jeff (February 8, 2019). "An Unscripted Journey Spans 20 Years" . Harrisburg Magazine. Retrieved October 15, 2019 .
^ Eurobasket.com Andy Panko basketball profile.
^ Frank Bodani (August 18, 1997). "Small-college player has big-time talent" . The York Dispatch . p. B1. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Jay Nagle. "Small school, big dreams: NBA prospect blossoms" . The Philadelphia Inquirer . pp. D1, D4. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Ira Kaufman (March 26, 1999). "Seniors land auditions for NBA dream roles" . The Tampa Tribune . p. 6. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Ed Gruver (April 26, 1995). "Panko looks to be part of LVC tradition" . The Daily News . p. 12. Retrieved March 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Glen Rosales (January 20, 2001). "Panko allowed taste of good life in NBA" . Albuquerque Journal . p. D3. Retrieved March 20, 2022 .
^ "Andy Panko minor league basketball statistics" . Stats Crew . Retrieved June 26, 2021 .
^ "ACB.com Andy Panko, MVP Orange 2011-12 " (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved May 8, 2012 .
^ Greens sign veteran big man Panko
^ Malaga trade James Gist to Panathinaikos for Andy Panko
^ Unicaja Malaga part ways with Andy Panko and Marcus Williams
^ "Fuenlabrada signs Andy Panko" . Sportando.net. Retrieved August 15, 2013 .
^ Andy Panko returns to Fuenlabrada
^ Andy Panko signs with Vaqueros de Bayamon
^ Andy Panko reportedly signing with SLUC Nancy
^ Cambios de refuerzos a granel para inicio de playoffs del BSN (in Spanish)
^ Andy Panko inks with Fuerza Regia Monterrey
^ Fuerza Regia celebrate LNBP title
^ Andy Panko signs with Guaros de Lara
^ Andy Panko extended one more season in Monterrey Mexico!
^ "Andy Panko '99 Named to SCB National Hall of Fame" . Lebanon Valley College Athletics . May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 7, 2023 .
External links