Ayanna Patterson (UCONN Commit) 21-22 Highlights

[SVCBeercats]

 

[HuskyNan]

Love this kid. She’s got mad skills.

CD will teach her to keep the ball up in the paint. Still, immense upside.

 

[LarryLegend]

nice touch on some of those shots

 

[Blakeon18]

It will be fascinating to see her operate...both ends of the court...against elite
inside players who are taller than she is. e.g South Carolina bigs and Stanford bigs.

 

[MooseJaw]

Love this kid. She’s got mad skills.

CD will teach her to keep the ball up in the paint. Still, immense upside.

Love her too, she has the ability to have her own banner in time. Look forward to what she will bring to UCONN Player, student and citizen wise.

 

[#1florida]

You do realize this is a big, and most of her shots will be inside. Bunny shots.

 

[CocoHusky]

 

[JoePgh]

She certainly appears ready to be Aaliyah's backup. I am thinking that either Amari or Ice will be (hopefully) Dorka's backup, or (in the non-preferred alternative scenario) Amari and Ice will become the new version of Liv next year.

 

[Forego]

This is one highlight reel and the level of the competition is not known, but here’s what I saw:
Good footwork
Can beat double teams
Runs the floor
Can take it coast-to-coast
Can dish to an open team mate
Misses bunnies to pad her rebound stats
(ala Boston)
Must learn to shoot more with the left hand

Overall, very impressive.

 

[Charliebball]

AP has a gigantic upside..........I'm sure they'll be the normal freshman transition, but she is going to cause a whole lot of trouble down low against smaller and even bigger, slower defenders........like AE, once she has inside position, she's virtually unstoppable........if she can consistently hit that midrange jumper that will make her all the more dangerous......and yes I believe we may finally see a dunk attempt if the opportunity arises.....

 

[psconn]

BillsFan- There is a long-standing tradition here of imbuing top recruits with superhero-type prowess and expectations for success that far exceed anything that can actually be inferred from high-school play. "Wait and See" is a phrase not often used in connection with our recruits. These expectations kind of go along outrageous success spanning decades (kinda like the NE Pats ).

You are kinda swimming upstream unnecessarily... relax and enjoy the flow. For me, I'm excited to see what she can do at this level and I'm glad we got her. We'll see how it goes... she's going to contribute I think, and maybe, just maybe she could end up with an AIR'YANNA shoe line* when all is said and done.

*She needs to register that trademark NOW!!

 

[rvwsleep]

AP has a gigantic upside..........I'm sure they'll be the normal freshman transition, but she is going to cause a whole lot of trouble down low against smaller and even bigger, slower defenders........like AE, once she has inside position, she's virtually unstoppable........if she can consistently hit that midrange jumper that will make her all the more dangerous......and yes I believe we may finally see a dunk attempt if the opportunity arises.....

Did you say mid-range jumper ?

 

[Charliebball]

Did you say mid-range jumper ?

that's the shot that could turn her from a solid team contributor to an AA candidate....,.

 

[BobbyJ]

Did you say mid-range jumper ?

I really like this kid’s motivation and work ethic. This is the work the UConn bigs and wings should be putting in every offseason. And I have no idea why they don’t start it in HS.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Reminds me of DePaul's Morrow. Very versatile, extremely aggressive under the basket, and very hard to defend.

 

[Scud49]

She moves so quickly too with the ball. Another "mad skill" in abundance.

 

[Big Mick]

Love this kid. She’s got mad skills.

Mad Skills indeed; and, what a terrific personality - check this:

 

[nomdoux]

Watched some of Baylor-Texas after UConn’s win Sunday afternoon. NaLyssa Smith is a huge talent with a well-rounded, polished skillset, as I was reminded again after our Elite 8 clash last March.

Given similar size, athletic profile, & style of play, NaLyssa should be a model for Ayanna Patterson to follow in her own development. Hopefully, she is already aware coming from a basketball family, with her drive to improve as a student of the game.

I can see Ayanna's ultimate wing categorization insofar as her athleticism, ball handling, movement fluidity, & versatility portend such flexibility/potential. In fact, I think restricting Patterson to post play would be shortchanging her development. NaLyssa Smith is a good comparable for what Ayanna can become. After mostly operating in the paint under Kim Mulkey, Nikki Collen has her playing from the wing regularly & shooting the ball from range given similar athleticism. I see Ayanna as the closest female basketball equivalent of Lebron James based [strictly] on build/athleticism [combination]. Lebron is PF-size but with clear wing ability/movement.

I also think we all will be pleasantly surprised by Ayanna's jump shot in Storrs. Her form is already very solid & she makes a decent percentage considering infrequent attempts. Apparently, her makeup & work ethic are stellar as well.

 

[Dogstar]

This is one highlight reel and the level of the competition is not known, but here’s what I saw:
Good footwork
Can beat double teams
Runs the floor
Can take it coast-to-coast
Can dish to an open team mate
Misses bunnies to pad her rebound stats
(ala Boston)
Must learn to shoot more with the left hand

Overall, very impressive.

Emphasis on left hand

 

[MooseJaw]

Mad Skills indeed; and, what a terrific personality - check this:

What an amazing smile, can't wait to see her join the rest of the Huskies and watch them all smile as deadly assassins on the WCBB courts.

 

[pvdoggy]

I don't know how good she will be but I guess the skill is to be able to get into the position to take the bunny shots, and if I am able to take the bunny, I would not bother trying to take a lower percentage outside shot, but that's just me.

 

[CocoHusky]

I don't know how good she will be but I guess the skill is to be able to get into the position to take the bunny shots, and if I am able to take the bunny, I would not bother trying to take a lower percentage outside shot, but that's just me.

Regarding those bunnies- there is a slightly troubling aspect to Ayanna game very young Tina Charles/ Moses Malone like in that she misses more than her share of them. Because she is usually the quickest and most athletic player on the court she rebounds many of her own misses. That is something she is going to have to improve upon against higher level competition. It happens at about the 1:00 minute mark of this video from USA basketball.

 

[Scud49]

She is Miss Basketball Indiana for this year...!

Ayanna Patterson is Miss Basketball. And best is yet to come from this generational talent.

The UConn recruit guided Homestead to a 23-2 record and its fourth-straight sectional championship this season, averaging 25.8 points.

www.indystar.com