Draft ‘09 Stock Watch: Patrick Mills

Nice to see Patty Mills getting some love on Dime today. With all the hype in the draft going to Ricky Rubio, Austin sticks up for Mills who has seemingly been forgotten about heading in to the NBA draft.

Patty started slowly in the draft camps but dropped 30 points at the Reebok Eurocamp that should see his stock rise again.

Click on the title below to read the full article. Good to see some Aussies in the comments representing Mills.

NBA Draft ‘09 Stock Watch: Patrick Mills | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers

By Austin Burton

Here’s what I don’t get: While you can’t make it five minutes into a Ricky Rubio argument without somebody supporting his case with the concept that he “held his own” against grown men overseas and against Team USA in the Olympics, Patrick Mills gets zero credit for not just holding his own, but putting in serious work against the Redeem Team and other international juggernauts.

In almost every major test he’s faced, Mills has proven himself. As the focal point of each NCAA defense that went against his Saint Mary’s squad this year, the sophomore Mills averaged 18.4 points on 40% from the field and 85% at the line, plus 2.2 steals per game. Mills got the better of Stephen Curry in their NIT matchup, putting up 23 points and 10 dimes in a blowout win. Before that he dropped 27 points in an NIT win over Washington State, and despite missing nine games during the season due to injury, still clocked 10 games of 20-plus points.