OK, Patty Mills really is that awesome
by Nuss on Mar 18, 2009 12:15 PM PDT
in Cougar Basketball
3 comments
I know you're probably itching to move past last night and look forward to next season, but we've got about eight months in front of us to do that. For now, I think we all need to appreciate what we witnessed last night.
The best guard the Cougs have played against all season.
via d.yimg.com
Tony Bennett said on the pregame show last night that he hoped all the tough guards the Cougs faced in Pac-10 play had prepared WSU for Patty Mills. It turns out, nothing could have prepared the Cougs for him, because we haven't seen anyone that good all year long.
Taylor Rochestie has been absolutely superlative at keeping opposing guards in front of him -- and that includes guys like Darren Collison and Jerome Randle -- and Mills made him look absolutely foolish last night. Mills is both quick and fast, a deadly combination. He's not a consistent shooter yet, but when he's feeling it the way he was last night, his unbelievably quick release is impossible to defend.
Another thing that impressed me about Mills was his leadership. He set the tone from the opening tip, refusing to let his team pout. I know we wish our team would have done a lot of things better, but Patty Mills led his team to this victory. Every time we'd start to claw back in it, he'd do something to put us back down by eight to 12 points. This is the kind of guy you build a team around.
Now I know what all the fuss is about. It's not just that he piled up 27 points last night; it's the way he did it. When you singlehandedly shred the Cougar defense the way he did last night, you've really done something -- only one other guard this year came close to doing what Mills did last night.
NBA scouts should rightly be drooling about this kid. I'm honestly excited to watch him and St. Mary's get as deep as they can in the NIT, because these are, without a doubt, his final college games. (Which St. Mary's knows, and is probably why the Gaels were so pissed about missing the Tournament.) Now that he's not destroying my favorite team, I can fully appreciate his awesomeness.
Good luck in the NBA, kid -- and I'm glad I'll never see you on the floor against the Cougs again.
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That quick release can really make up for his lack of size
in pro ball.
This is where per game statistics go to die.
CougCenter
by Dancing Football on Mar 18, 2009 12:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I don't think he was the best guard
We’ve given it up to any number of good guards this season but I sure like his game and I don’t think you could truthfully say any of them played better against us than he did last night. You could tell he was really relaxed and comfortable with his game. He was a pleasure to watch, even though I hated him at the time. I want to see how he does at Davidson and the rest of the NIT. Hopefully, SMC makes it to MSG. I’ll be rooting them on.
Sorry to disagree with you on this one Nuss. You backed up your assessment with solid facts, and I appreciate that. I can’t match you in that department, so I’d like to reserve judgment for after I’ve seen him play at least one more time. It’s like that axiom that your never as good as your best game or as bad as your worst one. Consistency makes a difference to me.
I guess i was too honed in to the Cougs to notice how well he was performing. I also didn’t pay much attention to the announcers and missed a ton of what they said.
by SW WA Coug on Mar 18, 2009 1:49 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree on the consistency part
You could make arguments for Harden and Collison based on that. But the talent — and I’m talking physical skills — Mills possesses are superior to those of either Harden or Collison. If I was an NBA team and I was picking, I’d take Mills. The kind of stuff he did last night (and I’m not talking about the shooting) is a matter of skill, and that simply can’t be replicated.
Some people compare him to Tony Parker. I’d call him a cross between Parker and Chris Paul.
by Nuss on Mar 18, 2009 2:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
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