Panther of the Week: Lamar Patterson

Well, that didn't take long.

Lamar Patterson saw us give Talib Zanna a Panther of the Week Award and just couldn't handle it, so he went out and took it back. The past week saw some fine efforts against Clemson from Zanna and point guard James Robinson, but that all took a back seat when Patterson put the Panthers on his back yesterday in another road ACC win. The 2-0 week puts the Panthers at 18-2 overall and 6-1 in the ACC Conference, and Lamar is a big reason why Pitt will stay in the rankings this coming week.

Pitt began the week with a dismantling of Clemson by 33 points at The Pete. Zanna's 22 points and Robinson's eigth assists and zero turnovers really led Pitt, but Patterson did some damage as well. While only playing 26 minutes, he was able to put up 13 points while also contributing four rebounds and six assists. Just to make sure the senior filled in the entire stat sheet against the Tigers, he added in two steals and a block in the game. Even when Patterson has quiet games, it would be considered a pretty nice game by any other player on the roster. For Lamar, though, we are starting to expect it from him. It's becoming a little like Tyler Boyd this past season on the football field where you consistently expected him to put up crazy stats.

One thing that was not disappointing though, was Patterson's performance yesterday at College Park in Maryland. Patterson simply would not allow Pitt to lose this game and he helped Pitt pull off a four-point win on the road. Living in the DC metro area for about five years previously, I had been told of stories of how hard College Park is on opposing teams. That did not seem to bother Patterson, though, as he led Pitt to victory in every way possible. His performance yesterday has to put him right in the conversation for ACC Player of the Year. The numbers were staggering - 28 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and four steals. That's ridiculous. Oh yeah, and if you want clutch, he was also 12-14 from the free throw line.

We are running out of adjectives to describe Patterson's play this season. He simply is like a smart phone. Want to know what time it is, look at the smart phone. Want to get online...open up your smart phone. Need to get directions while you are out and about? Yup, just click on your smart phone. The guy can just do it all. If he doesn't beat you with points, he'll do it with assists and rebounds. These next few weeks should be fun as the nation will be taking notice of just how good he has been this season.

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