Hot Prospect: Patrick Mills

Posted by admin on June 01, 2009

St. Mary’s ● Sophomore ● Guard ● 6-0 ● 180 ● 8/11/88
18.4 ppg ● 2.4 rpg ● 3.9 apg (2008-09)

Highlights: Named the Southeast Australian Basketball League U-21 Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007…as a member of the 2006 Junior National Men’s Team, Mills helped Australia defeat New Zealand and qualify for the 2007 Junior Men’s World Championships…Was awarded the RE Staunton Medal, which is given to the most outstanding player at the National U-20 Championships… Named the 2006 Australia Basketball Player of the Year and named the National Sportsperson of the Year by the NAIDOC.

2008-09 (Sophomore): Was a First Team-All-West Coast Conference selection…As a First Team High-Major All-American by CollegeHoops.net…Started the first 20 games before breaking his hand against Gonzaga on Jan. 29…Missed the last nine games of the regular season with a broken right hand, and returned to action for the WCC Tournament…Averaged a team-high 18.4 points per contest and was second on the team 101 assists and 57 steals…Was a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, which honors the nation’s top point guard…Was selected to the Naismith Trophy Award Mid-Season Top-30 list, which honors the nation’s top player…Twice named as WCC Player of the Week this season (11/24/08 and 12/8/08), giving him five such honors for his career…Scored in double figures in 25-of-26 game as a sophomore…Had a season-high 31 points against WCC rival Santa Clara (1/09/09), when he hit the game-winning three with 2.4 seconds on the clock…Scored 20 or more 10 times, bringing his career total up to 19…Dished out five or more assists in nine contests, including a career-high 10 assists against Davidson in the second round of the NIT…notched his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 assists against Davidson…Knocked down a team-best 67 three pointers on 33.8 percent shooting from distance…Made at least three 3-pointers in 14 games and averaged 2.6 made threes per game…had a career-high six threes in the first half versus Gonzaga before his injury…Ranked 21st in the country with 2.4 steals per game before his injury…Had multiple steals in 14 games, including a career-high six against Fresno State (11/17/08)…After returning from his injury, he averaged 17.3 points, 4.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.7 steals, while shooting 37.6 (35-93) from the floor and 28.1 percent (16-57) from 3-point land…Was named to the 76 Classic All-Tourney Team, averaging 20.3 points and 3.3 assists per contest at the Classic…garnered Shamrock Office Solutions Classic All-Tournament Honors…Was a Third Team Preseason All-American selection by ESPN.com.

2008 Beijing Olympics: Played for the Australian basketball team in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China…was the only collegiate basketball player competing in the 2008 Olympic Games….Was the youngest player in the history of Australia to compete in the Olympic Games in basketball…In six games he averaged a team-best 14.2 points per game while coming off the bench in each game…Scored 20 points in the quarterfinals against the United States while recording three assists, two steals, and no turnovers in 28 minutes…scored an individual tournament-high 22 points against an Argentina squad that included five NBA players…Averaged 2.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 23 minutes per game, all coming off the bench…Tied for the team lead with 10 steals, and was second on the squad with 12 assists…Shot 47 percent (31-66) from the floor, 36 percent (8-22) from 3-point land, and 83 percent (15-18) from the free throw line.

2007-08 (Freshman): Was named First Team All-West Coast Conference and the WCC Newcomer of the Year…Was named Player of the Month for November…Was a three-time WCC Player of the Week Selection for the weeks of (11/16), (12/24), and (2/19)…Started all 32 games for the Gaels in his true freshman season…Set a Saint Mary’s freshman record for points in a season with 472…Scored a team-high 24 points in the NCAA Tournament against Miami…Also set the freshman mark for points in a game with a 37-point performance against then #11 ranked Oregon…His 37-point game ranks sixth all-time on the SMC single game scoring list…Led the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) and scored in double-figures 24 times…Was the first SMC player to start as a freshman since fellow Australian Daniel Kickert started in 2002…Was 13-of-14 from the free throw line against Oregon…Best career game from behind the arc came against San Diego State and LMU on 4-7 shooting from deep…Posted at least four assists in 17 games…had a season-high eight assists against East Tennessee State…Led the team in steals, averaging 1.8 steals per game…Was named the tournament MVP at the Rainbow Classic and the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic.

Is he Utah Jazz material?

2 Comments

Chuck on June 01, 2009 said:

The fact he has proof he is NBA ready from the 2008 Olympics games against USA and Argentina should make him the 2nd or 3rd PG in the draft – he is gonna be an absolute steal for someone in the 2nd half of the 1st round

tman11 on June 02, 2009 said:

i don’t know i mean international players don’t play as well in the NBA a great example look at Darko and that kid from toronto. i mean grant it they are getting better but it seem like alot of play of over seas take a long time to develop into what they are said to be thats jsut me talking though. I know you have alot of players that are different i just don’t see him fitting in with the jazz.

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