Saturday, January 17, 2009
One-on-One: Ron Patterson
One of the top freshman in the entire state in Broad Ripple guard Ron Patterson. The big news this past week is that Patterson had received scholarship offers from both IU and Purdue. Coach Tom Crean offered him over the phone, while Ron received an offer from Purdue coach Matt Painter after attending one of their games at Mackey Arena. He is, no doubt, one of the top two freshmen in the state along with North Central guard D'Vauntes Smith Rivera, and a quality case could be made for either at number one.
As a player, Patterson is an athlete. He has nice form on his jump shot, so while he in not super-consistent with it right now, he can easily improve since he has that nice form and high release point. He is an athlete. He had one very nice dunk on the break and had another throw-down go in and out while being fouled on the drive near the end of the game. He has the tools to be an excellent defender. He has a great, low defensive stance and good lateral quickness. He also has an unbelievably long reach, having a 6'11" wingspan at only 6'3" tall. So if he does get beat, his length can help him recover with hands on the ball or trailing blocks. He needs to develop a more consistent motor and more tenacity. He played a bit passive at times, especially defensively and on the glass, but that could have been due to the fact that he battled foul trouble all night. With his length an athleticism, he could be a tremendous rebounder as a guard, easily averaging 8-10 boards a game. He finished with 19 points on the night, with one three. He ha several impressive plays, like beginning the game with two nice 15-foot pull-up jumpers, and a few slashing moves. All in all, it's easy to see why Patterson is such a highly coveted recruits, and has earned early offers. Coach Crean had to like what he saw on Friday night.
