Rob Pannell wasn’t good enough. He was too small. He wasn’t fast enough.

As a freshman in high school, Pannell was relegated to the junior varsity lacrosse team, while the rest of his friends made varsity. For Pannell, getting cut was tough.

But that failure served as motivation. Over the next year, Pannell worked with a personal trainer to improve his speed. When he wasn’t at practice or a game, he was in his backyard shooting and working on moves.

‘I think that definitely helped a ton in making me the player that I am today, as far as constantly challenging myself,’ Pannell said. ‘Not getting that starting spot, I wasn’t going to accept that.’

His hard work earned him a starting spot on varsity as a sophomore, but he never lost that desire to get better. Now a junior attack for Cornell (7-2, 3-0 Ivy League), Pannell is a frontrunner for this year’s Tewaaraton Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top college lacrosse player. He is currently the highest scoring player in the country in points per game.

Before he could be mentioned among the game’s best players, though, Pannell had to overcome the same doubts that plagued him as a high school freshman.

Going into his senior year at Smithtown High School West, Pannell was considered too small and not fast enough to play at top Division I programs. By the fall of that year, he had only received scholarship offers from Towson and Quinnipiac — the latter receiving his commitment to play.

His high school head coach, Sean Keenan, remembers seeing Pannell in the weight room every day his senior year. Keenan said it was clear Pannell could play at an elite program after his first game that year. Pannell scored nine points to lead his team to victory against a nationally ranked Garden City team.

On one play in that game, Keenan was left in awe as Pannell split a double team and fired the ball into the upper corner of the net for a goal.

‘You could just see that he was going to be something special,’ Keenan said. ‘You say that about a lot of kids, but his ability to make other players better sets him apart from any other player that I’ve ever coached.’

By the end of the year, Pannell set the school record with 130 points, said his uncle Jim Metzger.

After the breakout year, Pannell wanted to play at a big-time lacrosse program. But Quinnipiac refused to release him from his commitment. After consulting Metzger, Pannell enrolled at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, giving him an extra year to improve. An All-American attack himself at Hofstra in 1980, Metzger became heavily involved in his college decision process.

While at Deerfield, Pannell still couldn’t get a release from Quinnipiac. This limited his choices to Ivy League schools because they do not participate in the National Letter of Intent program. So Metzger and his former Hofstra teammate, Vinnie Sombrotto, called then-Cornell head coach Jeff Tambroni.

Sombrotto, a National Lacrosse Hall of Famer, saw Pannell play in high school and gave him a ringing endorsement. Metzger remembers Tambroni asking how Pannell compared to other top Long Island players in his class.

‘Vinnie said, ‘No, this kid is on a different level,” Metzger said. ‘And the coach said, ‘Really?’ And he said, ‘I want him.”

They then sent Tambroni highlight tapes of Pannell. After seeing the tapes, Tambroni contacted Pannell and asked him to visit Cornell. Pannell said he fell in love with the school and coaching staff during the visit.

‘I knew that this was the right place for me,’ Pannell said. ‘Not having many other options, it was a no-brainer decision for me to make.’

Since arriving at Cornell, Pannell has helped the team reach two final fours. Last season, he was named a first-team All-American and was honored with the Jack Turnbull Award as the top attack in college lacrosse.

Pannell is currently leading the nation in assists per game with 3.11. And his 5.89 overall points per game are more than a full point above his next closest competitor — Jeremy Boltus of Army — who averages 4.80 points per game.

Metzger believes Pannell’s dominance can only be compared to former Syracuse attack and four-time All-American Mike Powell. Powell remains the only four-time winner of the Jack Turnbull Award.

Metzger said Powell had a unique ability to penetrate the defense and beat his man one-on-one. And he sees that same knack for playmaking in Pannell.

‘Rob has that gift,’ Metzger said. ‘You can say he’s reminiscent of Mikey Powell in terms of the way he attacks a defense and plays one-on-one.’

With 200 career points so far, Pannell’s numbers validate the comparison. Through three years at Syracuse, Powell scored 218 points.

Cornell head coach Ben DeLuca said Pannell is his own toughest critic. DeLuca said Pannell studies film religiously, analyzing his game and opponents. And as he did in high school, Pannell spends hours working out.

‘He pushes himself every day,’ DeLuca said. ‘You never see that young man resting on his laurels or being satisfied where he is.’

After his All-American campaign last year, Pannell spent the offseason improving his shot — the biggest criticism of his game at that point. Pannell set up balls around the field and took shots from each area a couple of days a week for about an hour. He would start behind the cage and drive toward the goal line. He took shots on the run with both hands and fired some from the perimeter.

The kid who was always too small and never fast enough is now one of the top players in college lacrosse. As his game has changed, though, his work ethic has remained constant.

‘I know the path that I’ve taken, and I was never really the star or in the limelight, so to say,’ Pannell said. ‘I don’t take anything for granted, and it allows me to continue to work hard and continuously evaluate myself.’

Virginia going through rough stretch

The Virginia lacrosse team lost back-to-back games for the first time since 2007. After beating Johns Hopkins in the previous six meetings, the Cavaliers lost to the Blue Jays 12-11 on March 26. Virginia lost again to Maryland 12-7 on Saturday.

The team played without two-time first-team All-American Shamel Bratton in the second loss. Bratton was suspended by head coach Dom Starsia, according to Inside Lacrosse. Bratton and his twin brother, Rhamel, were suspended for the team’s game against Stony Brook in February after violating team rules.

Bratton has been practicing, but Starsia hasn’t decided if he will play when No. 9 Virginia faces No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday.

rjgery@syr.edu

Published on April 5, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu