Ever wonder what the big deal is about St. Mary's star guard Patty Mills? Here's your primer. We'll go more in depth later as to how the Cougs might contain this guy, but this ought to get you started.
Video after the jump.
Mills was a total unknown to U.S. hoops fans before burst onto the scene last year with this crazy, 37-point performance against then-No. 11 Oregon. The Ducks turned out to be not that good, but it was a big darn deal at the time. (It didn't hurt Mills that this game was played at 76 possessions -- fast even by the Ducks' liberal standards.)
That led to a whole host of attention, including this little piece from Aussie Hoops America, showing some highlights and giving some of Mills' background. Pretty fascinating stuff, I think -- especially his indigenous heritage:
His spectacular freshman year led to a prominant place on the Australian national team for the Olympics. Mills scored 20 against the Americans in this exhibition game (he's No. 5 if you can make out jersey numbers). While Australians will point to how silly he makes Jason Kidd look as evidence of his awesomeness, Americans will point out this does not make him unique.
ADDED: Finally, we've got this little 2008-09 season preview from the guys who brought you the first video. If you haven't figured it out yet, Mills is kind of a national hero ...