Who is UK’s most underrated basketball player?
December 28th, 2009 | 
Author: By KENNY WALKER
With all the attention focused on John Wall and even DeMarcus Cousins, who are truly two of the nation’s best freshmen, it has been easy to somewhat overlook Kentucky’s most underrated player this season?
And who is that?
I think it is junior Patrick Patterson and I am going to tell you why considering he was a preseason All-American and is UK’s most experienced player.
The freshmen are good. Don’t get me wrong about that. They are talking about DeMarcus Cousins. Everybody knows about John Wall. He is on ESPN highlights almost every night and deserves to be. Bledsoe has been spectacular times. Dodson has had his moments.
You just have a tendency to forget about Patrick Patterson. He is under appreciated considering he averages about 18 points per game and about nine rebounds. Those are solid numbers. He has a nice outside shot. Yet we are not really talking about him enough.
That’s why at this point in the season, he has to be the most underrated and under appreciated player on this team.
He is having a tremendous year. He looks comfortable shooting the 3-point shot. If there is one area he needs to be better, and this is just nitpicking with all he has done because he has shown he can make outside shots now, but in this dribble-drive offense he still looks a little mechanical handling the basketball. He has to get more fluid handling the basketball, but I think he will put in time and work and effort to do that. Once that happens, what will there be that he cannot do on the basketball court. He will truly have a complete game then.
He came back to graduate, win a title and improve his draft status. It all depends on your attitude. Some kids say they want to get better, but do they really and do they listen to people trying to help them out and will they put in the work that they really need to get better. I don’t know what he did in California last summer, but whatever happened really helped him out a whole lot. He looks a lot more explosive to me. He is running the court so much better. I don’t know if he was hurt last year and that was part of his problem. Or maybe he was tired. Or maybe he was overworked. It could have been all of them.
But right now he is light on his feet and is getting up and down the court. If he continues to work, there are not limits on him.
Posted in UK Basketball
The change in the coaching staff is the best thing that has happened to Patrick. The freedom that Coach Cal has given him to improve his game will benefit him exponentially. His position at the next level won’t be under the basket guarding the Shaqs and the Howards of the NBA, but out on the floor with the power forwards. I am glad to see him develop the outside part of his game. I know he wouldn’t have had the opportunity under the BCG regime. As far as being underrated, that is only with the media. The people who really count are the NBA scouts, and that is why he will be a first rounder next year.
I agree with that but I do think there is a couple of areas that he needs to work on. One is moving without the ball. The other is although he is averaging 8+ rebounds he doesn’t hunt the ball enough when it goes up. He should be averaging between 10 – 12 rebounds per game. If he wants his stock to really skyrocket, he needs to become a beast on the boards. I’m really proud of him but I think he still has not reached his ceiling.
I agree that Patterson is the least represented in the media, when it comes to UK Basketball… but he is not “underrated”. His numbers… and his leadership are outstanding. His respect, from the other players on the team (and Coach) is wonderful. His attitude and demeanor is awesome. Patrick may be minus some media… but he is a plus where it really counts. The Big Blue Nation would be “lost” without Patterson.
Have to agree that the coaching change was wonderful for Pat — and every UK player. His rebounding numbers are down some because he now has help getting those rebounds. But in the big games, Pat is still the man.
Although, I do agree, Patterson could get a lot more involved than he is. He is “stepping aside”, so to speak… and letting the Freshmen “run the game”.
Yes, his rebounds are down because he has assistance.
I have felt that Patrick has not been getting the coverage that he deserves. He is a very quiet type of player. You don’t realize what he is doing until the game is over and you see his stats. He has had many double-doubles this year and in his career. I can’t remember the exact number at this time, but it is a boatload. I’m glad to see him play a different position. I thought his talent was being wasted for the past 2 years. He brings experience and leadership onto the floor. He doesn’t have to do all the work any longer; he has some teammates who are able to do a lot of the things he was counted on to do before. If I had a beast of a teammate under the basket I’d step back and let him do his job also. He does what is asked of him and I don’t see Coach Cal criticizing Patrick. Patrick is still new in his position but he is producing just like he always has. He is confident, growing and learning in the new program. There is so much talent on this team it is a wonder that anyone is being noticed the way they should. I’m blown away with the skills of the other players and can’t believe we are so full of talent. I am Patrick’s #1 fan, along with a few thousand others! GO CATS!
Everyone is right. Linda, I said that same thing, in a post a while back, about how I would know Pat was having a good game, but then the final stats would come and he would be 19 and 10 and I would be wondering how I had missed it.
I think the main reason no one talks about him, as much, is because everyone EXPECTS him to do what he is doing. While it doesn’t make it any less spectacular, we do tend to say “Of course he did that. It’s PATRICK”. We have come to believe that he is ALWAYS going to do the things he does and we don’t get as excited as we do about the “new kids” producing.
If John and Cuz were here 3 years, we would expect the same from them and wouldn’t think twice about it. In fact, I think we may be expecting it even sooner. That “NEW CAT SMELL” will wear off by February and we will start believing THEY will do it every game.
Pat knows how the Big Blue Nation feels about him and he knows that we deeply appreciate everything he does on the court and off of it. He may be underrated in the media, but he is far from underrated in our hearts.
GO BIG BLUE!!!
Yep, Patrick is THE man and no matter what his stats are at the end of the year, every one of us would be proud if he were our son, on and off the court. I think it has been a very long time since we have had a player of his caliber in both sports and humanity in a long time that everyone has embraced. We have had some great and wonderful players but this young man has been extra special. I don’t mean to take anything away from former or present players but Patrick really touches my soul. He not only demonstrates good decisions on the court but his behavior off the court is beyond words. It gives me hope for the future. When he walks away from the hardwood of college ball, he will be walking into a world that he will make better each day of his life. Patrick, we luv ya, man! Go Cats!UK2K +1 and counting!
Jim and Linda, I am with you
Kenny hits the nail on the head. Wall is a phenom and Boogie is a tremedous talent, but Patterson is, and always will be my favorite. Patterson is the glue to this team. Another underrated set of guys are Stevenson and Harris. These seniors both play great D. GO BIG BLUE!
Kenny knows his stuff, and I agree that Ramon has been a huge contributor, too. But Pat is the man
The one complaint about this team I have is that Cal needs to run the offense through patterson more often. He has one of the best shooting percentages in the country…why doesn’t he get the ball more than he does? I hope once we hit difficult conference games, we’ll see even more of him than we’ve been seeing. He is the type of player who should touch the ball every trip down the floor.
I agree, but with Wall and Cousins, sometimes that just isn’t going to happen. However, I am with you, in the big, tough games down the stretch, Pat will be the man
Yeah Patterson has the quietest double/double in the country almost every night they play. I do agree that he doesnt get the press that he should but when you got Wall breaking guys down all night long and throwing the sick moves on guys then Boogie down low just punishing people it’s hard to get press time for everyone I guess. Patrick is the glue guy, he makes the team what it is, he makes the plays when he has to and he helps keep everyone in focus on the floor…Not to mention he’s one of the classiest kids to ever play the game “same with his parents”. I’ve always looked at Patterson like this, we “as UK fans” shouldnt just be happy to have him wearing the blue & white, we should be honored that he came to this great program and graced it with on the court skills and his off the court attitude and big heart.
Personally, Patterson is my favorite player. He came back for another year for all the right reasons which means a lot, he has shown so much maturity and improvement in his game, and most importantly, he seems happy this year. That means more to me than anything! He is our rock, he is our stabilizing force when things seem edgy. I’m really glad things appear to be working out for him and I wish him nothing but success and happiness in the future!!!!
I agree with everything that has been written, and would only add how glad I am that Patrick got at least one year with a good, happy, winning UK team so he could know what it feels like. God knows no one deserves it more after his first two years.
I get sad already thinking about him leaving this year. I wish we could clone him. I know I’m gonna cry the last game he plays for UK. I tear up now when I think about it. It has been such a wonderful year for him already and it will only get better. If you looked up class in the dictionary, I’m sure Patrick and his parents pictures would be right next to the definition. It is so special to have him back for this year and for him to graduate in 3 years. The young man is special. GO CATS! UK2K +1 and counting!
Pat did deserve this year. And he is the glue guy. That’s a great line you may well see me using. And I like describing him as the rock.
And Linda, don’t worry. A lot of folks will be crying with you