Recruiting Wars

The major ticket holders in the Patrick Patterson lottery are still Duke, Kentucky, Florida, West Virginia, Virginia, and Wake Forest. Though there has been much speculation that Patrick would narrow his choices down to three by now, there has been no further official update.

Interesting occurrences of late: Florida won the title, and will likely lose much, if not all, of their starting five. Does Florida rebuild or reload? Patterson is a big key to the answer. Kentucky has lost their coach and Patterson has definitively stated that Minnesota, to whom Tubby Smith went, is not recruiting him. However, Patterson apparently has a place in his heart for Kentucky, and if Billy Donovan leaves his Gators for the Wildcats, Patterson could figure in huge to Donovan's attempt to get Kentucky to the Final Four.

As far as Duke is concerned, with McRoberts gone, they need Patterson even more. Even though Patterson stands only 6'8" in his socks, he has a wingspan of 7'1" and can jump out of the building. He has his share of weaknesses but he is definitely strong where Duke needs strength: defense, rebounding, and athleticism.

Here's hoping.

Go Duke.