Creighton lands local 6-11 Justin Patton

[LMS]

Sounds like he earned an offer at the CU camp.

[chicagojayfan]

Sounds like he earned an offer at the CU camp.

Omaha WH article discusses him. Apparently he has grown 7 inches since his freshman year and is now 6-11. His father is 7-3, so there may be more to come. He's also gained 20 lbs since the end of his last HS season and has really started to put it all together.

Creighton camp seems to have brought a very quick offer after he came in and dominated:

“He was getting 20 points in games, four or five dunks, 15 to 17 rebounds and five to seven blocked shots,” Anderson said. “He was the best player on the court. He was seriously motivated.” and “When you see him getting a rebound, dribbling through traffic and finishing with a dunk on the other, it opens your eyes up,” the coach said. “I’m surprised more eyes haven’t opened up around the area, but at the end of the day, I’m very happy Creighton got on to him.”

Looks to me like the classic late bloomer who when seeing him up close and personal the staff realized they needed to offer immediately

http://www.omaha.com/creighton/jays-pul ... 51b9e.html

[Jet915]

Well, credit the staff for finding a diamond in the rough. Justin really impressed in AAU in July and according to Eric Bossi, will be ranked in the top 150 when they are updated. Evan Daniels (scout) saw Justin Patton and called him a future top 100 prospect!

Here are some positive comments from various pundits:

ESPN (Francisco):
Justin Patton (Omaha, Neb./North)
2015, C, 6-11, 220
Committed to Creighton
Patton is a sleeper who could become an absolute steal for Creighton. He is tall, but needs to add strength, which should be an easy fix once he gets to college. He is an effective shot-blocker with solid hands and feet. Patton runs the floor well and showed the ability to be an effective face-up shooter. He needs to learn how to be consistently productive, but Patton has the tools to be an impact player down the road at the next level.

Scout:
CREIGHTON REELS IN BIG TIME TALENT. While Patton didn’t received many touches in an afternoon game at the Fab 48 he took advantage of them when he did. He calmly sank a 15-foot jump shot, tipped in misses and finished with his right hand. Patton clearly has a lot of upside and Creighton is getting a special talent.

Justin Patton, C, OSA Crusadors: Creighton got a flat out steal in Patton, whose size, length, athleticism and budding skill all scream upside. Patton is still pretty physically immature and isn’t capable of impacting the game today the way he will once he gets stronger, but with added muscle and skill development, the sky is the limit for this kid. He blocked shots, rebounded and finished above the rim. He should be a very good one for Creighton.

CREIGHTON WITH THE STEAL
Creighton deserves some serious credit for getting Justin Patton, a 6-foot-11 big man, committed before he got out on the July circuit. I’m not quite sure how he managed to fly under the radar this long, but I evaluated him twice in Las Vegas and Josh Gershon saw him once and the resounding thought was this guy is loaded with upside and potential. A legitimate high major player and future top 100 prospect, Patton is clearly blessed with good height, but also has an extremely long set of arms. He’s mobile and able to get end-to-end quickly. Patton has a nice set of hands that caught virtually everything thrown his way. Plus he has impressive touch in the paint. He also showed tremendous confidence in his mid-range jumper, as he buried multiple shots from that area in my viewings. Defensively, he’s able to impact the game with his shot blocking.

Rivals (Bossi):
Six-foot-10 center Justin Patton was the best screen setter in Las Vegas. Creighton landed themselves a terrific prospect in the standout from Omaha. He runs well, has a great frame to put muscle on and is a good enough athlete and shooter to cause problems. Creighton fans should be excited.

C Justin Patton (2015): Looking back at the month of July, there wasn't a more under utilized player than Patton. Teams have their system and his Omaha Crusaders team was very well coached and the weave they like to run is effective. However, the talented big man would have been a force if utilized more. Not saying that he will end up an NBA player, but there are a lot of guys making money the Association who looked like Patton as 16 and 17-year-olds. He can run, has tremendous size (with plenty of room to add weight) and looks to have good touch. Right now, Creighton is the clubhouse leader for biggest steal in 2015 recruiting by landing him before anybody else found out about him.

[chicagojayfan]

Nice compilation Jet. This kid is super exciting as a prospect.

It made no sense to think that they were reaching this early in the cycle after last year's class (2 HS kids in the top 100/150 and 2 of the highest recruited transfers in the cycle). What DID make sense was that they realized they had a kid in their backyard who was going to absolutely blow up when he got out onto the AAU circuit and that they needed to get him in the fold before a few hundred coaches were calling him every day... and that is exactly what has happened.

As you quoted, Scout is putting him in their top 100. In addition to the Rivals quotes you listed, Eric Bossi said "He is an absolute lock to make the next round of rankings and it is just a question of how high."

He also gives a good explanation for why Creighton seems to have backed away from recruiting Illikainen: "Patton is a much better prospect than Illikainen. IMHO, at least. Now that I've seen him it would seem like a pretty easy decision if they were choosing one or the other."

In a general sense, he just fits so well. Not only a guy who can function within the offense with his great mobility, great screen setting skills and a decent mid range shot that continues to develop, he's a super long armed paint defender who can help slow down the off the dribble guys that populate the Big East rosters.

[Jet915]

Debuts at #119 on 247 rankings.

[Omaha1]

Went from unranked and even unknown here in Omaha to #40 by Scout.

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p= ... id=7854830

[Jet915]

Here is the Scout blurb on Patton (and Heldt of Marquette):

Justin Patton, a Creighton commit, and Matt Heldt, a Marquette pledge, were also big movers in the new rankings. Heading into July not much was known about either, but Patton and Heldt both proved worthy of a lofty ranking At 6-foot-10, Patton is mobile, athletic, long and boasts the hands, touch and shooting ability to be effective as a scorer. Heldt, who also stands 6-foot-10, impressed on offense with hooks shoots and catch and shoot jump shots. Both are promising big men and good early pick ups for their respective schools.

[Jet915]

#47 in the new rivals top 150.

http://sports.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/player-Justin-Patton-165323;_ylt=AizRUewERbiQhJtgfakG50TVO5B4

[TheHall]

#47 in the new rivals top 150.

http://sports.yahoo.com/basketballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/player-Justin-Patton-165323;_ylt=AizRUewERbiQhJtgfakG50TVO5B4

Donovan Mitchell's rise from obscurity seems to be getting all the hype since he verballed to UofL but Patton's rise seems even more improbable and dramatic IMO. Great, great job by the CU staff scouts be damned.

[Jet915]

Took this from our message board:

Scout released their Ultimate 100 today. It ranks the best 100 prospects, regardless of class.

Patton came in at #97. Here's what they said:

"Patton entered Scout's 2015 top 100 after a strong showing in Las Vegas this past July. By the time, Creighton had already added a commitment from him, and it's a terrific one. Patton has very good size and length. He runs the floor well, has a nice set of hands and shows positive signs on the offensive end. Once Patton gets into a college strength and conditioning program it is very likely that he turns into one of the better bigs in the country. He has some refinement to do, but the upside and natural tools are through the roof."

To get an idea of how highly they view Patton, Jalen Brunson (#45) and Henry Ellenson (#17) are the only other Big East commits on the list.

Also increased to #64 on 247 rankings with a composite ranking of #84.