2015 C Justin Patton (Signed)

[cu8493]

Time to hide the kid. Someone take away his cell phone. We sure don't need Roy or Bill giving him a call to "congratulate" him. On the serious side, I do hope he works as hard at getting his academics in order as he is working on his basketball. That is ultimately a more important discipline than the game of basketball - even if he has the possibility of great earning potential at the next level some day. Maybe he should have a conversation with Anthony Tolliver about the importance of his academics.

[section202jay]

A 6-10 guy with handles that likes to play on the perimeter and go coast-to-coast. Sounds like we just got Kevin Durant.

In all seriousness I think this is exciting. He wasn't highly recruited but sounds like he has good potential and he's a local kid, so that adds to my excitement.

Congrats, Justin!

[TrueBlueJay]

Welcome aboard JP...three stars, four stars or zero stars doesn't much matter to me. Sounds like the perfect type of player we need to run this up tempo offense and he has a huge upside. Also, he may not be able to flex like Gregory, but I have a feeling Justin will be able to protect the rim.

[mredle]

Wow. That seems completely out of nowhere.

Does this hurt our chances with guys like Schwartz, Falzon, and Illikainen?

I think the message it sends to a kid like Illikainen is that Mac sees him at the 4 and not the 5. And at 6'8" that's probably the place you want him.

[gtmoBlue]

Welcome to Creighton, "General" Patton.

[JacobPadilla]

I covered one of his games this past season, and he was awful. I was thoroughly unimpressed. He airballed 3 jumpers and wasn't a huge presence on either end.

I've seen him play a few times this summer in the summer league, and he's looked like a completely different player. He's been more confident and is making his presence felt. Very mobile, good ball skills and a lot of length. His shot still needs plenty of work, so he's not really a stretch big at this point, but he is really good in transition and rolling to the basket.

[Duke1Agn]

Jacob, do you see the same high ceiling everyone keeps mentioning? It sounds like he may be a project, but I love the fact that he has improved so rapidly.

Wasn't Anthony Davis an unrated prospect with a single offer from Cleveland State before he blew up over one year? Why not a repeat!

[JacobPadilla]

Jacob, do you see the same high ceiling everyone keeps mentioning? It sounds like he may be a project, but I love the fact that he has improved so rapidly.

Wasn't Anthony Davis an unrated prospect with a single offer from Cleveland State before he blew up over one year? Why not a repeat!

He's not as talented as Anthony Davis (obviously) but there are a lot of parallels as a guard who shot up an became a skinny big man while retaining some of the guard skills.

He is most definitely a project, but his rapid improvement is exciting. His ceiling is pretty high if he continues to work hard and is able to grasp the mental side of the game. How high? I have no idea. I don't have a lot of experience seeing kids like him first hand. They're pretty rare around these parts.

[JacobPadilla]

Here's my story on Justin.

http://www.creightonian.com/sports/arti ... b2370.html

[fritzpointer]

Thanks Jacob for the story. Do you know if Alex and Justin ever played on the same team or got to know each other at all at camp? Welcome Justin and go Jays!