Dink Pate has been one of the highly rated prospects in the 2024 class and has been displaying his unique talents playing up 17U with Team Trae Young (OK). I had a chance to talk to the talented sophomore about his recruitment and how this grassroots season has been for him.
He holds current offers from schools like LSU, Texas Tech, Houston, Arizona, Washington State, New Mexico State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Troy, SMU, and plenty more.
When asked which schools have been on him the hardest recently, he answered “To be honest there’s not one school in particular. All of the schools that offered me have been in contact here and there, trying to get me on campus and whenever we are in a live period I see a lot of these coaches. There are some schools even recruiting me that I don’t have offers from.”
Dink is a 6-foot-7 guard with a next level wingspan. His length is unnoticeable at first glance. He holds a solid handle, can utilize his size over the small guards getting to the rim, has the athleticism, and uses his long arms to effect passing lanes defensively.
Now playing up a level is rare for underclassmen. As I stated earlier, Dink runs on the 17U level in the Adidas 3SSB with Team Trae Young (OK). He plays alongside two incredibly talented prospects in 2023 Ja’Kobe Walter and 2023 Kaden Cooper.
I asked him how does it feel running with such two talented prospects in a class ahead of him. He said “It’s a good feeling. This isn’t my first time playing with high profile players. I played with 2 McDonald’s All-Americans at Prolific Prep (CA) and a few more D1 players on that team. Playing with Ja’Kobe and Kaden is great though. I get to play my natural position at the PG and they allow me to make plays on my own and trust I will get them the ball in the right spots.”
Pate also continued and said, “playing 17U really isn’t a big deal to me. I rather play up. I played 17U last year as a freshman and started. I’ve played varsity ball and a major role in every team since I was a freshman. I’ve always played up my entire life, even in elementary and middle school. I even played on a national prep school team last season so to me it’s all basketball. No pressure really.”
The rising junior will be playing at Pinkston High School in West Dallas, Texas after spending half of last season at powerhouse Prolific Prep (CA). As the off-season goes along, Dink told me there is a couple thing he would like to improve on before coming into his junior season.
“I always want to improve on every aspect of my game. I don’t ever want to stop getting better. My goals for this AAU season is to be a more of an aggressive scorer, continue to prove to people that I am a true point guard, and not just a tall basketball player. I’m a big guard for sure and I want to always get better at defending. Overall I want to put my team in winning situations at all times.” He said.
The Grind Hoops by Samad Hines 