Carnac, myself and others have been discussing this on another thread. I think she needs an Aaliyah type summer with intense work on up fakes, her pull up J and outside shots, strong and quick drive moves from both sides that are muscle memory and learning to play defense with her feet as opposed to her arms and hands. She has to stay on the court and not get into foul trouble. Since she is not taller than a lot of post and 4 position players, she has to take that great athleticism and strength and develop the finesse parts of the game with it so that her power doesn't get offset by the lack of height. An easy example is to up fake after an offensive rebound. Keep your feet and do it once or even twice if necessary. As soon as the defender commits in the air go up and into and draw the fouls. She also has to get into the 75% range on her free throws. She has a lot of work ahead of her and just will be a different player with extensive practice. Isn't that the key to everything in life? Do you think Lincoln just went out there and gave speeches? After the Gettysburg Address, he actually changed the words for the printed version in the newspapers. He was still practicing on it to make it better.
Those two are great comparisons. She is a solid 4, certainly not a 3. But right now she lacks the touch of those two comparisons. She plays like she has boxing gloves on, and doesn't move all that well either. They could make a layup, on first try, at this stage in their development. Patterson is still very raw and likely could take another year or so, if ever, to get to a legitimate Elliot or Turner level. She showed just the slightest of flashes last year of what she could be. Hard to imagine that only 6 months later, she would be ready for a breakout, we'll see. On a positive note, she is athletically superior to those two and has a similar motor - if she can get her hands and feet working, watch out
Well, the original preseason estimate by many was for 25 dunks in her freshman year. Yeah, expectations were outrageously over inflated.
That's just summer talk. You can't hold folks going through basketball withdrawal accountable for what they say over the summer...
As long as they roll back.This is why I roll my eyes a lot during he off season...
“mostly taller than her opponents “ - very important point. Patterson is not the only recent highly ranked recruit who could have looked a lot better than they really are because they were taller than everyone they were playing against. If this was the case, you would think that those doing the evaluating would be savvy enough to recognize it.
You may have a point about playing away from the basket. She has good handles and can shoot the midrange j.
Don't think Patterson is a post player at all... PF stretch 4, and even a little 3, yes.. when I compared her to Elliott and Turner, those 2 were moreso PFs, not necessarily post players... They attacked the glass... They were tough 6 footers... I think Patterson can carve a little space out by hitting the boards a little more... She's a better ballhandler than the aforementions too... I think the confidence thing might've been an issue as another poster eluded to.. This offseason will allow her to develop that much more. Should be interesting... After all, she wasn't an AA for nothing...
Great point. That is what I was thinking all season. Ayanna was over thinking out there vs just reacting. Hopefully, Ayanna is somewhere going over exit interview stuff to work on during the offseason, working on her craft, and studying some of her favorite players moves. She just has to believe in herself. She knows that she can play. She has the skills. Just has to believe that she can do it and just play. She has to realize that some of the games greats on both sides, men's and women's, had to adjust their games and play through mistakes. Play without fear.
I do like the idea of Ayanna being on the wing and playing that position. With her athleticism, quickness, and power, it is interesting. A lot just depends on the offensive system or style of play. Ayanna looked pretty good in that Maryland game. She seemed fluid and comfortable in that game. Same with that first DePaul game and that Duke game. Maybe it was the style of play in those games. Who knows.
This is mid-April. She's got 6+ months to train and perfect her game. She and the coaches know what her weaknesses are and what they need to work on. 6 months IS MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME to train hard every day, train with a purpose and goal in mind with coaches/a trainer, and take your game to the level and place it needs to be.
I have noticed that very few woman BBplayers....sometimes even the very best of them....do not, instinctively, use the pump fake. And, as you said, it can be a crucial tactic.
