He has a pretty good jumper but its not silky smooth. The day he demonstrates a sweet jumper and looks fully recovered I think he beomes a top 10 pick.

The two biggies that will affect Patterson’s NBA stock (ignoring whether or not he has fully recovered, physically and mentally, from the injury) are:

1. Feeding the post. We all hope that as the season progresses we begin feeding the post better. This will give Patterson more touches, more points, more rebounds, etc. In order for him to average, by mid-conference play, 20+ and 10+, this has to happen. For Patterson to be a solid lottery pick, he needs these averages. He has had many great games this season, but also some mediocre games. He’s getting in foul trouble a lot more too. Part of all of this is that Patterson needs to seal his man better. His 3/4 seals are, in my opinion, a mixed result of not fully recovering (mostly mentally) yet, and getting frustrated with too few attetmps. He may be thinking, “Why work so hard to seal when the guards aren’t even going to try to get it to me?” He needs to seal fully every time. The other part, obviously, is everyone else feeding more effectively and efficiently. If Meeks (and Miller or Harris or someone else) can get their shooting % from three and the long two up, there will be more opportunities for this as the opponent has to guard the long shot better.

2. Mid-range jumper. He hasn’t really shown the ability to knock this shot down, mostly because he rarely takes it. He just isn’t big enough to be a true post player in the NBA, though he undoubtedly will be able to post better than most 6’8" NBA guys. In order for this to happen, we need someone else to post regularly, and allow Patterson to shift out to take this shot. In my opinion, giving Harrelson more time down low (because Stevenson will simply never be a true post-player) allows Patterson to shift. If he sticks around next year, putting Orton at the 4/5 and letting Patterson play a more true 4 spot will showcase this skill (I’m assuming he has it). If Patterson can get to where 1/2 to 3/4 of his shots are from post, and 1/4 to 1/2 are the mid-range jumper, he will become a LOT more appealing to NBA teams.

Don’t go. The NBA is a scary place, where team presidents sacrifice the young and David Stern makes you wear ties. You will never be more loved than here in the Bluegrass, where the beer flows like wine.