The power forwards to play for John Calipari have had some of the most success in college and continued the success at the next level. It does not always work out for Coach Calipari as one of his top recruits to play the position transferred after two seasons.
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Last week was the first round of rankings for the power forward and the player that slid into 5th was none other than Kyle Wiltjer. The three point shooter brought a different aspect to the position that power forwards under Calipari do not usually possess.
"What Kyle was able to do was come in off of the bench and provide three point scoring that stretched the floor. Having played behind an inside threat of Terrance Jones, it made it difficult for a single power forward on the opposing team to guard the dynamic difference."
Speaking of differences for Calipari, the next player did not get recruited by Coach Cal, but was a huge piece to his first year of at Kentucky. The leadership that Patrick Patterson brought to the 09-2010 Kentucky Wildcats helped him climb to this number four ranking.
The overall impact that Patrick Patterson had on Kentucky came way before John Calipari. However, giving that he only played one season under Calipari, I am only basing his ranking off of his one season with Coach Cal.
Giving that, Patterson handled the situation of having a new coach as well as anyone could have asked for. Being the star player on his team in both of his first two seasons, he was asked to come in with a different role in his junior season. A star studded crew of John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe were in town, and everyone needed to eat.
Instead of shying away from the challenge, Patterson embraced it and became a better player because of it. His numbers might have taken a blow as far as individually, but what the new team did allow for was expand-ability for Patrick. In his first two seasons combined he did not make a single three point attempt out of four tries. With Calipari in town, he was able to shoot 34.78 percent on 69 attempts.
Showing this commitment to success over individuality won over the trust of his teammates and the fans. With out Patterson in 2010, the Wildcats would have been very good. However, his leadership and composure to lead a large group of freshmen made them great.
Patrick Patterson ended up reaching his dream of playing in the NBA being drafted 14th overall by the Houston Rockets. Many players soon forget their college team once they find success in the league. Not Patterson. He has often shown himself at Kentucky games and shown his support on social media for his alma mater.
Patterson gave Kentucky 3 great years and is very deserving of his number 4 overall ranking. Stay tuned next week to see who comes in at number three. While you wait, here is a throwback of Patterson in his final season.
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