Ron Patterson

[GGGG]

His recruiting profile say his strengths are three point shooting and defensive/athletic ability.  Creating and using his left hand are areas for improvement.

That's good!  I have seen him play live a few times, and he is constantly taking it to the rim...most likely because he can. 

[Jay Bee]

I posted this in May 2011 -->

Patterson is good, not great.   Could turn into a very good player.  Settles a lot, although he's not close to an elite shooter.  Can do multiple things though.. solid overall, not great.  Could be pretty good, but I'm not sold.

Saw him a bunch more later that summer, no real change in thoughts.  Good player. 

His shot is actually quite pretty (nh) and if you caught him at the right time you might think he's an incredible shooter - streaky.  I've seen the hot, I've seen the cold.  If he takes smart shots and really takes care of business on defense, could turn out being pretty good.

[NersEllenson]

That's good!  I have seen him play live a few times, and he is constantly taking it to the rim...most likely because he can.  

Because of his liabilities on the defensive end.  Nice try though....I give it a B-minus.

And how do you know Jake Thomas's limitations defensively?  Have you watched him play a lot - or are you jumping to a conclusion based on him being a traditional?  

But yes, generally the guys who are great athletes (who I assume you are correlating to be great defensive players), fail to develop a great perimeter shot as a high school player...as they can generally get to the basket at will...as you acknowledge above.

But yeah, as you said you are concerned we aren't recruiting enough strong shooters - yet when we do they aren't adequate due to defensive limitations...yet also you realize the good athletes generally attack the rim because they can...and obviously shooting from point blank range has a higher percentage of going in than 20' from the basket.

Nice try though, I'd give your explanation about a C-.  

[GGGG]

And how do you know Jake Thomas's limitations defensively?  Have you watched him play a lot - or are you jumping to a conclusion based on him being a traditional? 

I have watched him play when he was in the state tournament.  I know people who have played against him.  I saw the reports of him at the ProAm.

[NersEllenson]

I have watched him play when he was in the state tournament.  I know people who have played against him.  I saw the reports of him at the ProAm.

Fair enough.  Though Steve Kerr and Jeff Hornacek were able to carve out NBA careers while being less than stellar defenders.  Novak seems to be doing it too. 

Jake has better athleticism than Travis Diener, and Steve Novak.  Believe some in the ProAm saw Jake throw down a put back dunk - something I'm pretty sure we never saw Diener or Novak do while at MU....and I'm sure you'd agree with me that generally guys who jump pretty well, usually have pretty good athleticism/quickness...

[Lennys Tap]

Maybe Jake Thomas = Rob Frozena.

Maybe Jake Thomas = Gary Rosenberger.

Probably Jake Thomas = something in between.

We'll find out pretty soon. Can the argument be tabled until we get a chance to watch him play?

[bilsu]

I have watched him play when he was in the state tournament.  I know people who have played against him.  I saw the reports of him at the ProAm.

Defense at the pro am are you kidding? In college defense is mostly team defense anyways, which means understanding assigments. I think Thomas will be more than adequate at that. I really believe that if Mayo had not returned Thomas would have seen significant minutes. Most of the minutes for the 2-3 will be taken by Mayo, Blue and Lockett. He is essentially replacing Jones. I have also seen how Thomas can go on shooting streaks and expect him to contribute more than Jones did in two years.

[GGGG]

Defense at the pro am are you kidding? In college defense is mostly team defense anyways, which means understanding assigments. I think Thomas will be more than adequate at that.

Really?  The style that MU plays pressuring the ball out top?  I don't think he is a good fit for that all all.  If you could hide him in a sagging defense that's one thing, but not the way that MU plays.

[GOO]

Patterson reminds me a little of Dwight Buycks.  He has all the tools, looks great, could almost be a point guard, can get his shot off from anywhere... but will he take bad shots because he can get his shot off anytime (but not necessarily high percentage good shots)... that would be my concern.  Shot selection and knowing not to take a long turn around fade away with time left on the shot clock versus passing the ball...   

[bilsu]

Really?  The style that MU plays pressuring the ball out top?  I don't think he is a good fit for that all all.  If you could hide him in a sagging defense that's one thing, but not the way that MU plays.

I seen Gardner and Otule pressing the ball ot top, so Thomas can too.

[avid1010]

Jake has better athleticism than Travis Diener, and Steve Novak.  Believe some in the ProAm saw Jake throw down a put back dunk - something I'm pretty sure we never saw Diener or Novak do while at MU....and I'm sure you'd agree with me that generally guys who jump pretty well, usually have pretty good athleticism/quickness...

jake doesn't come close to bringing what Novake and Diener did to the offensive side of the ball, and i don't believe he'll guard his position as well either.  i was amazed how steve stepped up his rebounding his senior year, and diener had a competitiveness to him that simply allowed him to defend his position well. 

i think you would agree that for his position/height, jake is extremely unathletic by mu standards.

[brewcity77]

Nothing against Jake, but comparing him to Diener and Novak is comparing him to national top-100 players. I hope he comes good, but anyone that thinks he is on their level, guys that both went on to play in the NBA, is really overselling the kid and simply building unrealistic expectations.