JarHeadJim
I have never won sheet!
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- Aug 21, 2011
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From Jarama Valley
I used to post a lot on the Indiana forum and I used to blog and have been following my beloved Indiana high school basketball and AAU stuff for years, and Patterson is one of the kids I've probably seen the most over the years.
First thing you have to brush off is the notion that he's not ranked and that Indiana didn't want him and let him go. Both notions are totally hogwash. The Brewster coach said if Indiana has 13 better players than Patterson you should hand over the title to them right now. Indiana is good, but Patterson would've been a nice boost even as a freshman.
No offense to the ratings guys as I know they work hard and I enjoy their product and the fruits of their labor, but they don't seem to value building a team. Patterson is better than most of the four star guards in 2012 and 2013.
The knock on Patterson is true, but overblown. He's got a below average handle for a smallish 2 guard. He can get to the basket and will do so (he can score from anywhere on the floor) but he still lacks that awesome handle that would make him a more elite offensive player.
He's a good shooter from deep, but a little streaky. He's got nice athleticism and good leaping ability. Not a freak, but real nice at any level. He's a wonderful passer. Crean always pushed the idea to him that he'd wind up a point guard in a few years because he sees the floor so well and has nice passing ability. You have to watch high school games to see that much, in AAU he was strictly a wing. The handle is certainly an obstacle to his future at point, but some kids make strides there so who knows.
Defensively he might be the best wing defender in the 12/13 classes. He has a +12 reach. Crean said he was the only +12 kid he'd ever recruited or even heard of. In school and AAU he absolutely gives fits to the best players he goes against. Indianapolis is one of the most talent laden basketball cities in the country and there's also excellent coaching compared to some of the other basketball hotspots. Ron's length and lateral quickness are a sight to behold. I've seen games where he over plays passing lanes and gets beat where a less gifted star defender might hold his position instead, but that's something he'll get coached fairly easily into.
IU and Syracuse are two of the most tradition rich programs out there and both have had their share of defensive monsters. I've been an IU fan since the 80s and I've never been more excited about a kids' potential defensive impact on the program than I was with Patterson.
Best part about Ron is his street fighter, toughness, brawlers mentality. He doesn't get techs and yell at the officials, but he is practically dripping with passion when he plays. I can't count how many times late in a game I've seen him come up with multiple defensive plays to win a game late in the game. He's a brawler. He's tough as nails. I'm a bit of a man to man purist and in a way its a shame he's going to Syracuse because he's potentially the best man to man defender in the class. But his +12 wingspan is going to absolutely kill people in your zone defense.
You'll hear people tell you that Crean could've kept him and let him go because he was over 13 scholarship number, but its pure hogwash. Crean had a kid that was going off scholarship and going to pay his way but Ron didn't meet a condition in IU's very odd summer program for kids that weren't able to get admitted through traditional channels. The extra year of prep school will eliminate any of those concerns for you guys, he's actually eligible to play this year.
I know most fans look at a kids' ranking and think that tells the story. And I'm not a rankings basher in most cases, I think those guys make sense generally. But it really doesn't for Ron. Ron only played a few games with the top flight Indiana Elite AAU club before he went to Indiana Elite One to follow his old AAU coach at spiece from prior years. He played with Kellon Duhnam (Butler recruit) who is one of the best shooters in the country and would also be ranked much higher if their team got watched the way Indiana Elite's top club or the best Nike AAU programs get watched. But Ron is just a good scorer, not a great scorer and at 2 guard most of their evaluations on rankings comes from scoring ability. Ron truly is a good scorer, but a 3 star scorer not an elite player like he is on defense or for intangibles on the court.
You guys lucked out getting him. I know you can get a five star kid every year and some nice recruits that look good on paper, and you will. Ron is the kind of guy that will drive a group of more talented guys to be really good. He's a defender, a brawler, and comes up huge in the clutch.
I used to post a lot on the Indiana forum and I used to blog and have been following my beloved Indiana high school basketball and AAU stuff for years, and Patterson is one of the kids I've probably seen the most over the years.
First thing you have to brush off is the notion that he's not ranked and that Indiana didn't want him and let him go. Both notions are totally hogwash. The Brewster coach said if Indiana has 13 better players than Patterson you should hand over the title to them right now. Indiana is good, but Patterson would've been a nice boost even as a freshman.
No offense to the ratings guys as I know they work hard and I enjoy their product and the fruits of their labor, but they don't seem to value building a team. Patterson is better than most of the four star guards in 2012 and 2013.
The knock on Patterson is true, but overblown. He's got a below average handle for a smallish 2 guard. He can get to the basket and will do so (he can score from anywhere on the floor) but he still lacks that awesome handle that would make him a more elite offensive player.
He's a good shooter from deep, but a little streaky. He's got nice athleticism and good leaping ability. Not a freak, but real nice at any level. He's a wonderful passer. Crean always pushed the idea to him that he'd wind up a point guard in a few years because he sees the floor so well and has nice passing ability. You have to watch high school games to see that much, in AAU he was strictly a wing. The handle is certainly an obstacle to his future at point, but some kids make strides there so who knows.
Defensively he might be the best wing defender in the 12/13 classes. He has a +12 reach. Crean said he was the only +12 kid he'd ever recruited or even heard of. In school and AAU he absolutely gives fits to the best players he goes against. Indianapolis is one of the most talent laden basketball cities in the country and there's also excellent coaching compared to some of the other basketball hotspots. Ron's length and lateral quickness are a sight to behold. I've seen games where he over plays passing lanes and gets beat where a less gifted star defender might hold his position instead, but that's something he'll get coached fairly easily into.
IU and Syracuse are two of the most tradition rich programs out there and both have had their share of defensive monsters. I've been an IU fan since the 80s and I've never been more excited about a kids' potential defensive impact on the program than I was with Patterson.
Best part about Ron is his street fighter, toughness, brawlers mentality. He doesn't get techs and yell at the officials, but he is practically dripping with passion when he plays. I can't count how many times late in a game I've seen him come up with multiple defensive plays to win a game late in the game. He's a brawler. He's tough as nails. I'm a bit of a man to man purist and in a way its a shame he's going to Syracuse because he's potentially the best man to man defender in the class. But his +12 wingspan is going to absolutely kill people in your zone defense.
You'll hear people tell you that Crean could've kept him and let him go because he was over 13 scholarship number, but its pure hogwash. Crean had a kid that was going off scholarship and going to pay his way but Ron didn't meet a condition in IU's very odd summer program for kids that weren't able to get admitted through traditional channels. The extra year of prep school will eliminate any of those concerns for you guys, he's actually eligible to play this year.
I know most fans look at a kids' ranking and think that tells the story. And I'm not a rankings basher in most cases, I think those guys make sense generally. But it really doesn't for Ron. Ron only played a few games with the top flight Indiana Elite AAU club before he went to Indiana Elite One to follow his old AAU coach at spiece from prior years. He played with Kellon Duhnam (Butler recruit) who is one of the best shooters in the country and would also be ranked much higher if their team got watched the way Indiana Elite's top club or the best Nike AAU programs get watched. But Ron is just a good scorer, not a great scorer and at 2 guard most of their evaluations on rankings comes from scoring ability. Ron truly is a good scorer, but a 3 star scorer not an elite player like he is on defense or for intangibles on the court.
You guys lucked out getting him. I know you can get a five star kid every year and some nice recruits that look good on paper, and you will. Ron is the kind of guy that will drive a group of more talented guys to be really good. He's a defender, a brawler, and comes up huge in the clutch.
