Last year at this time, the Pitt basketball program was preparing to celebrate having turned out a lottery pick when Steven Adams was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This year when the NBA Draft comes and goes, it could do so without hearing Lamar Patterson’s, Pitt’s only NBA hopeful, name called.
For a while Patterson was projected to be a mid- second round pick and while that could still be the case, it seems over the course of the past month that Patterson’s draft stock has fallen mightily.
Whether or not we hear Patterson’s name called Thursday night though doesn’t mean he won’t have an NBA career.
It’s will just be a long road to get there.
Patterson played himself into the NBA discussion with a big senior year at Pitt, averaging 17 points, five rebounds and four assists per game. He was second team all-Atlantic Coast Conference, and made honorable mention all-America.
Standing at 6’5”, Patterson is considered a two-guard/swingman type of player at the next level.
To date he has worked out for half of the teams in the NBA, most notably the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat. He also had second workouts for the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets.
His high Basketball IQ, shooting, passing and playmaking ability, make him an intriguing prospect for most NBA teams. Patterson is better suited to today’s perimeter-skill-oriented NBA and the pick-and-roll game. Throw in the fact that he is a very good rebounder for his size and you can see why teams would be intrigued.
Teams like Charlotte, Indiana, Minnesota, Orlando, Sacramento and Utah could all use a perimeter player that can shoot the ball right now.
On the down side, Patterson will struggle defensively against athletic wing players and his shooting percentages (39 percent from behind the arc and 75 percent from the charity stripe) didn’t dazzle for a player who relies on his shot to be successful.
In addition to being only 6’5”, he’s a below-the-rim guy who is never going to dazzle with his athletic exploits. Though he’s not particularly slow-footed or limited in the vertical-jump department, Patterson doesn’t stand out in many areas either, which could ultimately lead to him not being drafted.
Whether he does get drafted tonight or not, Patterson will likely see a lot of time in the NBA D-League to harness his skills.
However I would expect to see some team take a gamble on him late in the second round.
There’s almost always a spot for a hardworking player who makes good decisions on both ends of the court. And Patterson is the type of player that coaches love.
At the end of the day, Patterson will never be an NBA starter on a contending team and he may never be one on a lottery bound team either.
But if he can prove that he can hit the three-point shot on a consistent basis, there will always be a spot on an NBA roster for a guy who does the things on the floor that Patterson does.
Given his work ethic and the improvement he showed throughout his five-year college career, it’s tough to bet against Patterson making a successful NBA career for himself.
Hopefully he will hear his name called tonight and get a start to doing exactly that.
Photo Credit: Associated Press
