The Wildcats are having an outstanding season and it’s amazing to think about how far we’ve come in just one year. We have superstar freshmen like Boogie, Wall and Bledsoe, but we all know who the true leader on the team is. Yes, it’s Patterson.
I’ll start by saying I love Patrick Patterson. He’s developed into the Derek Jeter of Kentucky Basketball. He’s all class and he quietly delivers when the team needs it the most. Every season Jeter is criticized for not producing similar numbers as Arod, but few can argue that he’s not the reason the Yankees continue to be a great team each year. Jeter’s leadership and clutch play is a huge reason the Yankees are contenders each year. It was just a few weeks ago when Patrick Patterson was receiving criticism for his performance. Did he really deserve it? Let’s take a look.
Everyone would agree that Demarcus Cousins has been a beast this year. Cousins is averaging two more points a game, but Patterson is shooting at a higher percentage and has an offensive rating of 131 vs. Cousins 118.6. If you look at the chart below, you will see that Patterson was off to a great start at the beginning of the season and Cousins has turned it on as of late. I don’t think this is anything negative for Patterson, it just reflects the direction the offense has taken. We now pound the ball into the post vs. the beginning of the year when we scored more points in transition/turnovers.
Now let’s take a look at Patterson vs. Boogie as a freshman. Using Cousins stats as they stand today, Patterson would lead in the following categories.
Pts Per Game – 16.4 vs. 16.3 (might as well call it a tie)
Shooting Pct – 60.7 vs. 58.4
Assist – 1.7 vs. .917
Cousins leads would lead in rebounding 10 vs. 7.7. Here’s a look at Points Per Game for both players. You will see that up to this point in the season, Patterson was actually having a better Freshman Year than Cousins.
What does all this mean? It just means that we have some really great players and their toughest competition is the guy standing next to him. It also means that Patterson definitely doesn’t deserve anyone doubting his ability. I do think he’s struggled a little to find how he best fits into the offense and that’s completely understandable.
Boogie might have a slight edge in performance this year but when you consider Patterson’s experience and leadership, he quickly becomes one (if not the most) important member on the team.
