FILM ROOM: Ayanna Patterson is highly talented with a high motor

Kentucky women’s basketball’s first commitment of the offseason was from Ayanna Patterson, a former top five recruit who was expected to be a big part of the championship core at UConn, but due to a knee injury followed by a shoulder injury, she just couldn’t ever seriously work her way into Geno Auriemma’s rotation. However, at Kentucky she should have more opportunity to grow as a player.

Let’s take a seat in the KSR Film Room for the second time this offseason as we break down and analyze some of Patterson’s film from her time as a Husky. We previously did the same with Ajša Sivka — the article is linked below.

FILM ROOM: Ajša Sivka is a catch-and-shoot flamethrower that never runs out of gas

Patterson didn’t get tremendous levels of run at UConn, obviously, but there are some things about her game that you can pick up from the moments she was on the court.

Getting down the floor and finishing through contact

The number one thing that jumps off the screen at you when you’re watching Patterson is her hustle. Maybe she felt the need to battle more to try to earn more of a spot in the rotation, but whether it was that or it’s just how she plays, Patterson never seemed to take any possessions off.

A lot of the time, that meant constantly fighting for positioning in the post, either to score or get a rebound. In the play below, she gets back down the court after getting a stop, gets to the basket and is rewarded with an and one.

At times, it does seem like she takes an extra second to think about or process what to do, but that is something that Kenny Brooks can certainly fix. However, he can’t fix what effort his players bring, but that won’t be any sort of a worry when Patterson is playing.

Using her length to contest shots

Patterson isn’t the tallest player in the world at 6-foot-2 (we’ve just gotten used to giants like Clara Strack being down on the block), but she knows how to use her length and what height she has to contest shots.

Unlike Patterson’s dunking ability, playing good defense isn’t always the most jaw-dropping thing in the world, but it has to be a mainstay of what you bring to the table if you’re going to consistently get minutes under Brooks. Her defense probably isn’t elite by most measures, but if she can stay in front of her assignment and contest shots, that should be good enough.

From watching a number of her games by now, it appears that she’s a better defender when playing in a zone, but her man-to-man defense is by no means bad. Brooks’ defensive system vacuuming players to the paint can be a slight hindrance to some players, especially guards, but Patterson should thrive in that space.

Extending her range beyond the paint just a bit

Patterson’s jumper needs a little bit of work, but she can at least shoot it from outside the paint just a little bit. She has no history of being a three-point shooter at UConn, but at least her offensive game can extend more than five feet from the basket.

She’s probably at her best when she’s coming downhill and using her athleticism to attack the rim, but if she’s open from mid-range, Patterson can sink the shot if she receives the ball.

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