CHESAPEAKE — There’s an old cliché that says “Big things come in small packages.”
Case in point is Chesapeake Panthers’ Dannie Maynard.
The senior guard stands 5-foot-9 which is small for college basketball standards, but that hasn’t stopped Maynard who has overcome any stereotypes or deterrents to sign a letter-of-intent on Friday to play for the Kentucky Christian University Knights.
Maynard said there was no secret to how he managed to be successful in a tall man’s game.
“I just went out there and gave it my all. I knew I was going to have to put in more work and time than people who were bigger than me,” said Maynard. “I don’t let it get to me because I’m good enough to play.”
Chesapeake Panthers’ head coach Steven Ater said Maynard never let his size be a deterrent and used it to give him an edge.
“He had a great high school career. He was a thousand point scorer.,” said Ater who was also a standout player for the Panthers despite being under 6-foot tall.
“If you look at him, he’s not very big, but his heart is so big and he plays with such an edge that sometimes it gets him in bad spots, but when he was able to corral that, the craftiness he played with, the skill level is really high. He’s got the potential to go and be a very good college basketball player.”
Maynard mainly focused on Alice Lloyd College and Waynesburg (Pa.) University before he settled on Kentucky Christian.
“Those schools were all right, but they were all two hours or more away and KCU was the closest one and they gave me the most money,” said Maynard. “I wanted to be close to where I could come home when I wanted.”
Ater said that the Knights are getting a diamond in the rough.
“I think they’re getting a guy who’s got a lot of good basketball in him. He’s got to get stronger. That’s something he knows. That’s something I challenged him over the last two years to add to his body because if you want to play college basketball that’s paramount,” said Ater.
Maynard averaged 11.5 points, 2.3 rebounds with 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals as the Panthers won the Ohio Valley Conference title.
Last season, Maynard averaged 16.9 points a game.
“His senior year he really sacrificed. His scoring dipped but that’s because the talent around him increased and he was willing to play a more facilitator role,” said Ater.
“I think that’s going to help him at the college level because now he’s been a scorer and a setup guy who can get guys involved. I think KCU is looking at him as a distributor and a guy who can also score and get some offense that’s initiated that way, too.”
Maynard is confident about his ability to play at the next level but he also understands that he’s going to be starting his college career much like he did as a high school freshman.
“I have no clue where I’m going to be on the depth chart because I’m starting out being a freshman again,” said Maynard. “They want me for the point guard spot. I’m perfectly fine with playing the point. I learned a lot from this past season where I had to distribute the ball more and get everyone else the ball.”
Maynard knows he has some work to do that’s outside of the gym, but he’s ready to meet it head-on.
“Definitely, I need to gain some weight and get in the weight room and just show up and be there,” said Maynard.
Maynard has already got a small taste of playing at the next level. He has had a one-on-one workout with the KCU coach and played in an open gym.
“The open gym went well. The one-on-one workout went really well also. I feel like over my time there I’ll get more and more playing time each year.”
Although Maynard has excelled at basketball, he has played other sports that have helped him develop all his skills.
“I like basketball the best. I’ve played all the sports since I was a youth, all three of them. I usually played football and baseball to pass the time until basketball season. Football helped with my foot work and I just played baseball to stay in shape,” he said.
Maynard— who spends his leisure time either shooting basketball or playing a video game — plans to major in business.
“I just want to get a job after college and work for somebody,” said Maynard.
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