The immediate
reaction to last night's 85-72 loss by St. John's to Creighton, was fairly
predictable. Coach Chris Mullin "didn't like his players' overall
energy." And the team's two best players, Marcus LoVett, and Shamorie
Ponds questioned their own aggressiveness in the loss. It's almost reflexive
these days for players to blame themselves in post game pressers. But the 4,928
fans in attendance might remember the game more simply as their first look at
Justin Patton.
Even
those of us who follow recruiting closely on the internet had to do a little
digging to find out about the young big man from Omaha. Two summers ago, ESPN
and other services made him an consensus top 100 player. Though he was taken
off that list by ESPN during his senior year at Omaha North High, big things
were still expected from a guy whose length and athleticism made most observers
think he could make an immediate impact on defense while his offensive game
developed.
Before
the start of last season, both the youngster and the program made a decision to
redshirt. Both player and coaching staff insisting that it was for the long
term, that there was no physical issue or off court trouble.
That
athletic but unpolished player may have been the guy who arrived on campus two
years ago but the player fans were
treated to last night combined that uber athleticism and length with fantastic
fundamentals; catching everything, making perfectly time rim runs and using the
glass on offense, while walling up to block and change shots on defense. Of his
4 assists three of them were perfectly timed back door passes from the high
post to a cutter; two were bounce passes and one was a perfectly placed lob to
the rim for a Marcus Foster slam. He also had 25 points and 9 boards, not a bad
night's work for a supposed raw athlete who showed lots more polish than any of
his more highly touted classmates at Kentucky and Duke.
Patton's
effort was part of a well-balanced Creighton attack that saw Maurice Watson
orchestrate beautifully, add 19 points of his own and make a pair of crucial
three pointers as St. John's tried to claw their way back into the game.
The Blue Jays closed the first half
with an 11-2 run to take a 44-26 advantage into the locker room, and followed
that with a 6-0 opening burst to begin the 2nd half and push the margin to 24
before St. John's could find their footing. LoVett and Ponds lead the offense
with 23 and 17 points respectively and Tariq Owens had a strong second half,
finishing with 12 points and 5 boards. Despite their best efforts St. John's
cut Creighton's margin under 10 just once at 63-55 on a LoVett basket with 6:17
left. Watson responded quickly with a
triple and the veteran Blue Jays, with help from their talented redshirt
freshman Justin Patton put the finishing touches on a road win that will be
precious in the rugged Big East conference. No doubt he left a lasting
impression on the fans at Carnesecca Arena last night. What they saw was a player who showed unusual
patience by redshirting, and one who's now reaping the reward of that patience.
For those who follow college basketball to the exclusion of pro ball enjoy him
while you can. He deserves recognition with the so-called one and doners in
other programs. And in fact, because of patience work and coaching, he may be a
better pro than any of those guys.
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