Marching On

I was really impressed with Patterson last night against SC. He started the game off with a bang. We didn’t have to wait long until we got the three from him to extend that streak. He got the open look and just stuck that shot. I am sure Darin Horn said Uh Oh! If he didn’t he should have, because it was apparent PP was focused for the game.

That was the PP we were expecting every game all year. For two years we had been so spoiled with the man and his exploits on the court. Everybody just expected to see him dominate every game this year because he finally had great talent to play with him. I was just so thrilled to see him take command last night, but he didn’t just demand the ball he went and got it.

I know it has to have been hard for him to learn the new position(s) all year and it took mental adjustments to step back and let the younger guys have their day. In the grand scheme of things stepping back was probably a plan all along. I know he had been beat upon for two years and there is no doubt in my mind that he dreaded the beating he took every game, but it is a testament to the man that he never backed down. Fast forward to this year and we can see that he was glad to allow his team mates to be in the spotlight, but again it was probably more than that. I know that if he hadn’t stepped back somewhat I don’t feel the team would have been where they are now. Oh yeah, it is miracle that a team that young even with all that talent has only 1 loss to date.

Coach knew what he was doing all along. He was willing to sacrifice a few losses to bring all the team along rather than just a player or two, but the team won anyway. The one that has benefited as much as anyone has been Patrick. He now has much more in his arsenal that makes him much harder to stop or defend.

The title of the post was marching on, but it was a play on words, because March is right around the corner and the team seems to be in March form or getting very close to where he wants them to be. I am so happy to see them gel the way they are, but I am absolutely thrilled to see Patrick decide that now is the time to be assertive.

I would be remiss to not mention the awesome defense the cat’s played last evening. If not for those miracle shots once again from Downey it would have been a 40 point beat down, but I’ll take a 20.

Marching on, yes indeed!