37 games, 35 starts
________________________
Averages
32.3 minutes
12.6 points
3 rebounds
4.3 assists
40.5% - FG
30.2 - 3pt
77.7% - FT
Finally getting into the final two of these final grades in between recovery periods of wicked sunburns! Sure, it's almost July, but better late than never, right?
Grading Pane on his senior season is maybe the toughest one out there. On one hand, he had a really strong finish and was crucial in the team having as strong a finish. On the other hand, when he was slumping hard, the team was stuck in a massive rut. With him being the preseason WAC Player of the Year, expectations were obviously high, as was the pressure of being looked at as the go-to guy to start off the year with six seniors having graduated. Then when other would-be go-to guy Brady Jardine got injured, the pressure mounted even more.
The result was a total roller coaster, so let's break it down as best as we can.
Positives: Pane finished his USU career with only two games of double-digit assists, both of them coming in the CIT, and one of them where he backed up a 10-assist game with 20 points of his own. Overall, he had a strong finish to the season, averaging 14.3 points and 5.2 assists per game over the final 11 contests of the season. On top of that, his defense was stellar, and at times, game-changing. There were also several times where he stepped up in big ways for big games. He scored 20 points or more in games against BYU and Nevada at home, as well as road games at Louisiana Tech and Hawaii. He also surprisingly become somewhat of threat from the 3-point line too, finishing the season shooting 30.2 percent, a solid increase from his 21.1 percent the year before.
Negatives: Good as he was at some times, Pane hit some serious lows throughout a lot of the 2011-12 season. Whether it was the times he was trying too hard to be THE guy, or just hitting slumps, Pane's lows were more extreme than his highs throughout the year. For one five-game stretch, Pane shot a combined 14-for-49 from the field (28.6 percent). That also included shooting 2-for-14 from the 3-point line over that same stretch. And all that is without mentioning the infuriating number of times that he dribbled hard into the lane, forcing up a wild shot over two or three defenders, while leaving Preston Medlin wide open behind the 3-point line.
Summary: Pane didn't have an easy task with losing pretty much every major contributor from the prior season. Still, his head didn't seem to be in the right place for much of the year, whether he was trying to do too much on his own and forcing bad shots, or turning the ball over at a frightening pace. His defense was usually great, but pretty much everything else was totally hit or miss. And on a team that was both young and inexperienced, the lone senior returning starter needs to be the guy who can be counted on as a beacon of consistency, but that just wasn't the case.
With the ability he has, along with his overall performance throughout the year, it kind of left a lot to be desired from a preseason Player of the Year pick. And going from that preseason hype to only an honorable mention All-WAC selection is one hell of a drop.
Final grade: C+
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