Elite 2024 Prospect Dink Pate Uses Penny Hardaway As the Blueprint for His Game

Pate's growth through adversity has led to a host of Power 5 schools lining up for his services this summer.

Dink Pate can understand why you don’t understand.

At first glance, the 6'7", 185-pound prospect fits the mold of an elite wing; long and wiry with a 6'10" wingspan and the innate ability to get where he wants on the court when he wants to get there.

“I pride myself in having an all-around game,” Pate says. “I feel like it makes me more of a threat.”

It’s his talk about his position that draws the most perplexing reactions.

“I’m a point guard,” Pate says. “That’s where I’m at my best. I’m not a taller guy who is trying to be a point guard, either; that’s my more natural position. I love to pass and just make plays for my teammates.”

Pate, a junior, fits the mold of a young Penny Hardaway; tall and explosive with three-level scoring ability and a keen eye, enabling him to thread the needle in the tightest of spaces throughout the course of a game.

“I pattern my game after Penny Hardaway, for sure,” Pate says. “Just his versatility and his ability to take over the game. I watch a lot of film on him and study him. People forget he was one of the greatest players in his era. I’m trying to be one of the best in mine.”

Pate started last season at national hoops power Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) but got lost in the rotation playing behind talented guards like Jordan Pope, now a freshman at Oregon State; Tre White, now a freshman at USC; and MJ Rice, a freshman at Kansas and SI All-American who was also named to the McDonald’s All American game.

Pate was one of the top point guards on the Adidas circuit this summer / adidas 3SSB

As a result, Pate transferred back home to L.G. Pinkston (Dallas) High in January, but instead of suiting up, he focused on individual workouts with his sights set on the start of the spring and summer circuit in April.

“The night I got back home from Prolific, I went to the gym for hours,” Pate says. “I felt like I was behind, because people weren’t seeing me play. I knew that I had to put everything into AAU, so I was determined to be as ready as possible.”

Pate starred in his role as an all-around playmaker, running the offense and masterfully finding top-tier guards JaKobe Walter, a Baylor commit, and Kaden Cooper for Team Trae Young (Okla.) in the grueling Adidas 3SSB circuit.

Pate averaged 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds a game for the summer.

“I was just back to having fun out there; that was the key,” Pate says. “I knew that Kaden and JaKobe could score the ball really well, and my coach really trusted me to put the ball in my hands. I feel like I grew a lot as a leader playing with JaKobe; he taught me a lot.”

That growth coupled with the production has a virtual who’s who of Power 5 heavyweights lining up trying to lure Pate. Auburn, Arkansas, Indiana, Georgetown, UCF, Alabama and Tulsa are his most recent offers, while Kentucky, Kansas, Gonzaga, Oregon and UCLA have upped their interest of late.

Pate plans to take a visit to UCF in September, and he’ll attend Big Blue Madness at Kentucky in October.

Rice isn’t surprised by Pate’s ascension “at all.” He foresaw this trajectory but maintains that it’s only the beginning for Pate.

“Dink is going to be him for sure,” Rice says. “I’ve been keeping up with Dink, and he’s becoming exactly what I knew he’d be: a killer out there on the court.”

Pate shares Rice’s sentiments about his journey being in the inception stage. For that reason, he's taking a slow-roll approach to the recruitment process.

“I’m not in any hurry at this point,” Pate says. “When I look back on my experience over the last year, I wouldn’t change anything about how it all went; not even me not playing a lot at Prolific. I learned a lot from it all. Now I’m in the position I’ve worked for, but the only thing it makes me want to do is work even harder.”