On August 18, 2014, elite Canadian basketball prospect Dillon Brooks, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard and small forward, reclassified from the 2015 class into the 2014 recruiting cycle and announced his commitment to the Oregon Ducks.
Exactly five years later, it seems history is repeating itself.
And that’s good news for Dana Altman’s basketball program.
On Sunday, top Canadian prospect and 6-foot-6 wing Addison Patterson, who recently reclassified into the 2019 recruiting class, committed to Oregon over offers from Arizona State, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma, USC and others:
Patterson is projected as an elite scorer at the collegiate level, proving his abilities on the EYBL circuit by averaging 16.5 points per game this spring.
“This kid’s special, really special,” CIA Bounce director Tony McIntyre told FloHoops. “He’s not even scratching the surface of his upside. He’s a straight-up scorer. He can control the ball. He’s an amazing passer. He sees things coming in slow motion, but he’s got some dog in him and he’s hungry. He’s a lot like a Jamal Murray, Dillon Brooks mix where he’s got a desire to be great and he hates losing.”
The 6-foot-6, 180-pound wing, out of Bella Vista Prep (Scottsdale, Arizona), is rated the nation’s No. 35 overall prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings.
Here’s what 247Sports had to say about Patterson as a prospect:
“Athletic shooting guard with good size for position. Hard-nosed competitor who plays hard on both ends. Extremely athletic and tough player for opponents to account for in transition. Improved ball skills have helped him create his own shot in halfcourt. Better shooter from midrange than three and mechanics could use some work. Athleticism and competitiveness make him a plus defender with strong versatility. Continuing to progress as shooter and ball handler will determine NBA upside, but floor is as a high major starter.”
With Patterson’s commitment, three of Oregon’s top 12 basketball pledges of all-time are part of the 2019 recruiting class, as he joins five-star center N’Faly Dante and five-star small forward C.J. Walker.
Patterson’s addition is the latest development in Oregon’s roster overhaul that has taken the Ducks from just three returning scholarship players to the Pac-12 Conference title favorite.
After Kenny Wooten, Louis King and Bol Bol declared for the NBA draft, Altman’s crew was set to return only point guard Payton Pritchard, combo guard Will Richardson and post Francis Okoro.
Originally bolstering that group was a traditional recruiting class highlighted by Walker, one of the nation’s top small forwards, junior college national player of the year Chris Duarte and four-star forward Chandler Lawson.
But even that collection left the Ducks paper-thin.
So, Altman turned to the transfer market and landed immediately-eligible impact players in New Mexico sharpshooter Anthony Mathis and UNLV star Shakur Juiston, as well as sit-out transfers Eric Williams Jr. (Duquesne) and Eugene Omoruyi (Rutgers).
The delayed NCAA clearance of late-rising prep big man Lok Wur gave Oregon yet another piece of the puzzle, but the Ducks were still short on big men and depth at the wing.
Altman and his coaching staff solved that problem during the reclassification period, landing Dante, a 6-foot-11 post who chose Oregon over Kentucky and Kansas, and Patterson.
Prior to Patterson’s commitment, Oregon’s Frankenstein squad was already considered a preseason top-10 team.
But with the elite scorer in the fold, the Ducks appear to be a Final Four contender.
-- Andrew Nemec