Patrick Patterson, PF

Patterson provided the Wildcats with a solid mentor for a lineup that featured four freshmen in the rotation. Many draft analysts were surprised when Patterson opted to return to the university for the 2009-10 season after being projected as a solid first-round talent had he entered the 2009 draft.

The opportunity to play for incoming head coach John Calipari, along with guiding first-year talents such guards John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, along with fellow frontcourt pounders Daniel Orton and DeMarcus Cousins, was too good to pass up.

Wildcats fans were treated to an exciting season. Patterson helped the team compile a 35-3 record, the second-best campaign by a Kentucky team that became the first university to win 2,000 games in NCAA competition and set the Division I record by producing 30 or more victories for the 12th time since its inception.

The Huntington, West Virginia native, averaged 17.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game as a senior to earn McDonald's All-American honors at Huntington High School, where he was rated the second-best power forward and 15th-best overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He was named to the 2007 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team, in addition to earning Mountain State Athletic Conference Player of the Year and All-MSAC first-team honors in 2007.

Patterson was the runner-up for the 2007 Bill Evans West Virginia Player of the Year, adding Nike Brand All-American Team honors while also being selected to play in the 2007 Jordan Classic. The 2006 Bill Evans West Virginia Player of the Year and West Virginia Gatorade State Player of the Year was also named Class 3A State Player of the Year as a junior.

He was chosen 2006 all-state and All-Mountain State Athletic Conference (MSAC) first team and was a three-time Class 3A All-State Tournament Team choice, the last one with the help of NBA standout, O.J. Mayo. The MVP of the 2006 National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp, Patterson garnered All-State and All-MSAC first team accolades as a sophomore and All-State second team and All-MSAC first team recognition as a freshman.

Patterson chose to play for Kentucky -- rather than Duke or Florida -- in a highly publicized recruiting battle. He was recruited by Kentucky coach Tubby Smith and his replacement Billy Gillispie. During his freshman All-American 2007-2008 season, he averaged 16.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 0.8 steals, while shooting 57 percent from the field.

After a Kentucky victory over Ole Miss, Patterson missed the remainder of the 2007-2008 season with a stress fracture in his left ankle. He also claimed he planned on staying at Kentucky rather than participating in the NBA draft.

For his sophomore season at UK during the 2008-09 season, Patterson and fellow teammate Jodie Meeks became one of the most successful duos in the country -- and also became the most productive duo at Kentucky since the days of Dan Issel and Mike Pratt.

The sophomore forward finished with 9.3 rebounds and 17.9 points per game, shooting 60.3% from the field that year. He also averaged 2.1 blocks and 0.6 steals.

On April 18, 2009, Patterson decided to enter the 2009 NBA Draft, but later withdrew his name and returned for a third season at UK on May 8, 2009. He continued to play a crucial role for the team during his junior season. With the addition of freshmen John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe, Patterson was no longer required to be the main option for scoring and rebounding.

Patterson also improved his outside shot, shooting about 40 percent from the 3-point line all season (compared to no 3-pointers made in the previous seasons). During his final season, he helped the team win the SEC Tournament and achieve a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004.

He would close out the year with averages of 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, as he also blocked 51 shots and had 27 steals in 38 starting assignments. After a tough loss to West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, Patterson again entered his name into the 2010 NBA Draft.

Positives: Tall, well-built athlete with minimal body fat (5.3 percent), along with a big wingspan (7-foot-1 1/4) and long reach (8-11) … Smart, instinctive player who knows what his job is and performs well in a structured system … Has a nice scoring touch around the basket and showed marked improvement with his perimeter shooting as a junior, making 24-of-69 three-point shots after connecting on zero during his first two UK seasons … Shows good quickness off the floor and also the lateral agility to stay in front of the shooter … Can elevate to get up and contest shots (152 blocks in 97 games) … His developing mid-range jumper, along with a soft jump-hook helped Patterson connect on 58.5 percent of his field goal attempts … Strong working under the basket, as 154 of his 617 field goals came from emphatic dunks … Shows above-average stamina running the floor and his 69 steals, along with 145 assists prove that he is not only capable of altering an opponent's shot, but also shows off his court vision and unselfishness in creating shot opportunities for others … Will never be a "go to" type of scorer, but is a fine role player with the speed to handle small forwards and the power to contend with the power forwards and centers … Has a developing mid-range shot, but with his power, he is also very comfortable drawing contact while scoring around the basket … Physical rebounder who gets good elevation and drive crashing the boards … Works well in unison with his guards as a cutter, showing the ability to finish with either hand … Maintains his position with good consistency when playing in the post, using his strength to box out the bigger forwards and centers … Does a fine job of applying pressure defense and opponents constantly struggled to get off a clean shot (likes to face up) … Has the lower-body strength to create space for himself under the basket … His face-up jumper has greatly improved, but he has also become proficient on turnarounds … Has the initial step to drive to the basket from the perimeter.

Negatives: Has decent passing skills, but most of his turnovers occur when he keeps the ball on the floor too long … He doesn't easily switch to a left-handed dribble … Needs to develop stronger post moves for the next level … Willing to get back on the defensive side, but despite good rebounding figures, he will get caught out of position … More of a role player than one that can carry the offensive load … Physically might be a better fit at small forward, as he has good power, but will get pushed out of the paint by the bigger centers and forwards … Improved as a junior, but his face-up game is not up to NBA level, yet … Must show more confidence in executing his jump shot off the dribble … Has to become more aggressive when positioning off the ball (help defense skills are just adequate).

--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas

Compares To: BUCK WILLIAMS-ex New Jersey/Portland -- Patterson will provide quality minutes coming off the bench and might become a serviceable starter as a rebounding-and-defensive specialist. While he has a good vertical leap, he fails to get much lift on his shot. He has to develop a better compliment of moves but did show confidence in his ability to connect from mid-range. A more recent comparison to his NBA-type skills could be Miami's Udonis Haslem. Like Haslem, he will get pushed out of the paint by the bigger forwards, but if he can develop a higher release point to connect with his jumper from mid-range consistently, he'd force lumbering defenders to defend outside their comfort zone.

Eaarned All-Southeastern Conference and Defensive All-SEC first-team honors, in addition to being named to the All-District first-team … Started all 38 games, ranking third on the team in scoring with 544 points (14.3 points per game) … Hit on 215-of-374 field goals (57.5 percent), as he was successful on a career-best 24 three-pointers (69 attempts, 34.8 percent) … Made 90-of-130 free throws (69.2%) and ranked second on the squad with 283 rebounds (7.4 rebounds per game) that included 116 from the offensive glass … Collected 36 assists with 27 steals and blocked 51 shots … Scored in double figures 30 times and had eleven contests with at least 10 rebounds … Led the team in rebounding in 12 games.

Named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year by the league's coaches, adding second-team All-SEC and NABC All-District honors … Was on pace to become first league freshman in 10 years to rank among the conference's top 10 in both scoring and rebounding, but suffered a season ending stress fracture in his left ankle, missing the final five contests … Finished second on the team in points (16.4, ninth in SEC) and led the club in rebounds (7.7, sixth in SEC) … Finished year 54 points shy of Rex Chapman's UK freshman scoring record (464) … Made 57.4 percent of his field goal attempts (162-of-282, fifth in SEC) … Ranked ninth in the SEC in free throw percentage (.731, making 87-of-119 attempts) … Started 25 games, reaching double figures in 22 of those … Missed the Houston game with a bad ankle … Produced nine 20-point games … Had six double-doubles, the most for a UK freshman since Jamal Mash-burn had six in 1990-91 … Was named SEC Freshman of the Week three times.

Started all 97 games he played in for the Wildcats, ranking 13th in school history in scoring with 1,564 points … Recorded 30 double-doubles as a Wildcat, tying Rick Robey (1975-78) for the sixth-best career total in Kentucky annals … Made 617-of-1,054 field goals (58.5%), including 24-of-73 (32.9%) from three-point range … Connected on 306-of-417 free throws (73.4%) … Collected 791 rebounds (8.2 rebounds per game), as he handed out 145 assists (1.5 assists per game) to go with 69 steals and 152 blocked shots (1.6 blocks per game) … Produced 81 games where he scored in double figures and had at least 10 rebounds in 33 of those contests.

Attended Huntington (W.V.) High School, playing basketball for head coach Lloyd McGuffin … Teammate of the Memphis Grizzlies' O.J. Mayo … Averaged 17.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game as a senior to earn McDonald's All-American honors …

Rated the second-best power forward and 15th-best overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com … Named to the 2007 USA Basketball Junior National Select Team, in addition to earning Mountain State Athletic Conference Player of the Year and All-MSAC first-team honors in 2007 … Runner-up for the 2007 Bill Evans West Virginia Player of the Year, adding Nike Brand All-American Team honors while also being selected to play in the 2007 Jordan Classic … The 2006 Bill Evans West Virginia Player of the Year and West Virginia Gatorade State Player of the Year was also named Class 3A State Player of the Year as a junior … Chosen 2006 All-State and All-Mountain State Athletic Conference (MSAC) first team and was a three-time Class 3A All-State Tournament Team choice, the last one with the help of NBA standout, O.J. Mayo … MVP of the 2006 National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp … Garnered All-State and All-MSAC first team accolades as a sophomore and All-State second team and All-MSAC first team recognition as a freshman.

Business major … Son of Buster Jr. and Tywanna Patterson … Born 3/14/89 … Resides in Huntington, West Virginia.