NBA Mock Draft 2017, Week 14: Markelle Fultz is still no. 1

Creighton’s Justin Patton has been one of the fastest rising prospects this season. A former top 50 recruit, Patton redshirted his first season with the Bluejays in order to prepare his body for the physical challenges of college basketball. The move appears to have paid off as he has been highly productive in his first season on the court, averaging 21.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per 40 minutes while shooting 70.6 percent from the field.

There are plenty of intriguing possibilities for Patton’s offensive development. He’s a fluid athlete with a developing face up game. The handles aren’t tight enough yet, but he’s still young. Patton also shows good footwork in the post and is a capable dive man in pick-and-roll. Even more, he’s fired up 12 3-pointers this season, which is certainly not enough to suggest that he’s a 3-point threat, but it’s a piece of his game that may come in time.

On defense, there are a few more questions. He doesn’t have a great wingspan, so it’s not clear how well his rim protection will translate at the next level despite his 6.8 percent block rate. More concerning, though, are his rebounding numbers. At his size, Patton should be a pretty dominant collegiate rebounder, but he has a defensive rebounding rate under 20 percent and often gets pushed around because of his lack of strength.

That said, there’s plenty of upside in Patton and Portland’s need to find young frontcourt pieces to pair with its established backcourt makes it a logical landing spot for the Creighton freshman.

Learn more about Justin Patton at The Step Back.