longstrangetrip wrote:I'm largely on board with the Patton pick. Seems like he has his head screwed on straight, and I love the athleticism and upside. Here's my one concern. I catch a little "Wes Johnson" vibe...you know, big smile, good personality, but perhaps not enough fire. I don't love his rebounding numbers at Creighton, and also note that he had a tendency to release on the defensive boards to run the court rather than stay home for the rebound. Some of this might be because of his growth spurt he still has a wing mentality rather than a center's. Anybody else have these concerns? At any rate, he can change if this is a concern. There's no reason he can't be coached up on defense and rebounding.
If you watch him play he has plenty of fire in him. All the reports say this kid is absolutely all in on basketball. I read an article about him that basically said the guy would get in a game anywhere any time and had to be encouraged to be careful about not getting himself hurt playing against scrub type competition. He just wanted to ball.
On him releasing early it's likely because one of his best skills is running the floor like Thibs said he puts pressure on the rim. If you want him to stay down and battle with guys he seems pretty willing to do that as nearly every possession he is putting is body on someone. This guy isn't afraid of contact. In the Wisconsin game he dives on the floor for loose balls twice. I don't see him as a space cadet.
I've only watched 2 games but here is how I would summarize Patton when it comes to rebounding.
He isn't as strong as you would like so there are times when he doesn't get the board or has to try and tip it out. Sure that's concerning but he is 20 so he is likely to get stronger. How much? Idk he added like 25 lbs in the last year or something so...
The guy boxes out and that often led to other players getting the ball. He doesn't just chase after rebounds he is fundamentally doing what you are supposed to do. This leads to his team getting rebounds...if his teammates do their job.
He may not be a crazy instinctual rebounder just flying in for rebounds. It's hard to say for sure how much he has or doesn't have this skill because much of the time he is putting a body on someone or is out of the play after contesting on the perimeter. How much will he pursue a rebound out of his area?
In some ways I would compare his rebounding to Dieng. He does a lot of what he is supposed to do and therefore doesn't have high rebound numbers but probably helps the team in that regard. From what I have seen though he puts a body on guys more than Dieng does every single possession of the ball goes up and he is anywhere near the paint. If he doesn't have good enough instincts to pursue rebounds or never gets strong enough then that's what will keep him from being average to below in that area. I don't think it's because he isn't putting forth the effort. I'm really interested in seeing a game later in the season.
