By AARON BRACY
April 26, 2024
Big5Hoops.com
Drexel continues to replenish its roster after several departures due to graduation and the transfer portal, with Russian big man Victor Panov the latest to commit to Dragons coach Zach Spiker.
At 6-foot-7, 230 pounds, Panov has size and strength to play in the paint but also has displayed a deft shooting touch from the outside. The Saint Petersburg, Russia, native committed to Drexel on Friday afternoon after making a visit to the Philadelphia campus earlier this week.
“Just walking in with the mindset if I like it on the visit, I’m going to pull the trigger and commit,” Panov told Big5Hoops after his visit. “That’s what happened. I loved the spot. Everything just went good.”
Panov likely will be the four-man in Spiker’s offense, taking the role of Luke House and Mate Okros, talented and tall wing players who exhausted their eligibility last season when Drexel finished second in the Coastal Athletic Conference with a 20-12 overall record and 13-5 in the CAA.
Growing up in Russia, Panova loved sports and played and participated in judo, swimming, skiing, hockey and figure skating, in addition to basketball. He came to the United States at 17 years old, prepped for two years before one season at Cal State-Fullerton. He spent last season at Daytona State College in Florida, where he averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 rebounds against Juco competition. Impressively, he shot 37.7 percent from 3-point range, making 20 of 53 shots from the arc.
“I’m a versatile forward,” Panov said. “I can step outside and shoot, can get to the basket, post-up and like to get my teammates buckets as well.”
Panov’s signing followed Spiker’s addition earlier this week of point guard Kevon Vanderhorst, a 6-foot-3 point guard from Brunswick Community College in North Carolina.
Also this week, Amari Williams, the three-time reigning CAA Defensive Player of the Year, announced that he was transferring from Drexel to Kentucky for his final season. Earlier this month, point guard Justin Moore left the Dragons for Loyola-Chicago.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Big5Hoops.com is his second website dedicated to Philadelphia college basketball. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages.