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Grantley Bernard
November 21, 2008 12:00am
THERE are roughly 200 days until the 2009 NBA draft, which means there are only 200 days until what many expect is inevitable: that Patrick Mills becomes the next Australian in the NBA.
The dynamic indigenous guard from Canberra, known around the US now as Patty, is just one college season away from stepping into the richest, harshest and best basketball league in the world.
The new college season opened this week with St Mary's Gaels starting 2-0 and a clamour to see if the boy of last season is now beginning to look like a man of the NBA.
Mills still has two years of college eligibility and doesn't have to declare for the NBA draft at the season end. But the hype, the expert opinion and the expectation all lead to one conclusion -- Mills will become an instant millionaire as a first-round pick.
While he was named in the All-West Coast Conference First Team after his freshman season with St Mary's, Mills' NBA stocks went through the roof at the Beijing Olympics.
As one observer noted, he went from maybe NBA player to certain NBA player.
"Playing and excelling against grown men in the Olympics can only help Mills in the long run . . . He'll be a first-rounder when he decides to come out," Michael DeStefano of nbadraft.net said.
When he decides to make his move is crucial. Nothing is guaranteed in the world of the NBA and Mills' stock could plummet during his sophomore season at St Mary's - a small Californian school - if things go pear-shaped or he was to get injured.
Three years ago Australian big man Andrew Bogut was named US college player of the year and picked No. 1 in the draft as the Milwaukee Bucks went for size and potential in a mid-strength draft pool.
Two things the NBA can't teach are the size Bogut has and the speed Mills possesses.
"He's quick," Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze said of Mills.
"With the combination of what he did at the Olympics and the glimpses of what he's done at college, the NBA will probably take a punt on him. He's quick and he's got some nous about him."
Having seen him perform live in Beijing, Gaze has a good handle on what Mills can do against more mature, experienced and bigger players.
At just 183cm (and that's being generous) Mills will be closer to midget than mountain in the NBA.
But it's the speed that sets Mills apart from everyone else, or nearly everyone. Some draft geeks project Mills as a mid-first-round pick and have him compared favourably to Davidson guard Stephen Curry, who is being touted as a possible college player of the year.
"Tape doesn't do him justice," Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke University and US Olympic coach, said.
"I love him defensively. I've been a defensive coach my whole life and there aren't very many people who stay with a guard - like right on him - when he has the ball.
"But if he's beaten, he doesn't retreat. He continues to play the play. He's got to be an extremely tough-minded kid.
"As good as he is offensively, I think he's got a chance to be a great defender. I think the kid has a big-time future."
In his first college season, Mills hit 14.8 ppg and dished 3.5 assists as the starting point guard, then went to the Olympics and came off the bench for the Boomers to average 14.2 ppg and hit 20 against the Americans in the quarter-finals.
Those Beijing performances had the NBA players talking about Mills, while the world's media latched on to a new rising star.
Not that Mills, who only turned 20 in August, is counting on stepping straight into the NBA. Indeed, he is not so sure that he will leave St Mary's at season's end, as everyone expects.
"The Olympics gave me a sense of what it's like to play against the best in the world," Mills said.
"Playing in the NBA is one of my long-term goals. But playing two games (against the NBA players at the Olympics) isn't a full season. I know I have an enormous way to go to reach that level. I firmly believe I'm not ready . . . "
There is very little pretence, if any at all, about Mills, who embraces the notion of Aussie spirit, mateship and having a go regardless of the odds.
As the young gun put it, you have to put it before the clash with the US - you just have to put your "best foot forward and give it a good crack".
For Mills, that next big step is into the NBA. When is just a matter of time.
November 21, 2008 12:00am
THERE are roughly 200 days until the 2009 NBA draft, which means there are only 200 days until what many expect is inevitable: that Patrick Mills becomes the next Australian in the NBA.
The dynamic indigenous guard from Canberra, known around the US now as Patty, is just one college season away from stepping into the richest, harshest and best basketball league in the world.
The new college season opened this week with St Mary's Gaels starting 2-0 and a clamour to see if the boy of last season is now beginning to look like a man of the NBA.
Mills still has two years of college eligibility and doesn't have to declare for the NBA draft at the season end. But the hype, the expert opinion and the expectation all lead to one conclusion -- Mills will become an instant millionaire as a first-round pick.
While he was named in the All-West Coast Conference First Team after his freshman season with St Mary's, Mills' NBA stocks went through the roof at the Beijing Olympics.
As one observer noted, he went from maybe NBA player to certain NBA player.
"Playing and excelling against grown men in the Olympics can only help Mills in the long run . . . He'll be a first-rounder when he decides to come out," Michael DeStefano of nbadraft.net said.
When he decides to make his move is crucial. Nothing is guaranteed in the world of the NBA and Mills' stock could plummet during his sophomore season at St Mary's - a small Californian school - if things go pear-shaped or he was to get injured.
Three years ago Australian big man Andrew Bogut was named US college player of the year and picked No. 1 in the draft as the Milwaukee Bucks went for size and potential in a mid-strength draft pool.
Two things the NBA can't teach are the size Bogut has and the speed Mills possesses.
"He's quick," Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze said of Mills.
"With the combination of what he did at the Olympics and the glimpses of what he's done at college, the NBA will probably take a punt on him. He's quick and he's got some nous about him."
Having seen him perform live in Beijing, Gaze has a good handle on what Mills can do against more mature, experienced and bigger players.
At just 183cm (and that's being generous) Mills will be closer to midget than mountain in the NBA.
But it's the speed that sets Mills apart from everyone else, or nearly everyone. Some draft geeks project Mills as a mid-first-round pick and have him compared favourably to Davidson guard Stephen Curry, who is being touted as a possible college player of the year.
"Tape doesn't do him justice," Mike Krzyzewski, the Duke University and US Olympic coach, said.
"I love him defensively. I've been a defensive coach my whole life and there aren't very many people who stay with a guard - like right on him - when he has the ball.
"But if he's beaten, he doesn't retreat. He continues to play the play. He's got to be an extremely tough-minded kid.
"As good as he is offensively, I think he's got a chance to be a great defender. I think the kid has a big-time future."
In his first college season, Mills hit 14.8 ppg and dished 3.5 assists as the starting point guard, then went to the Olympics and came off the bench for the Boomers to average 14.2 ppg and hit 20 against the Americans in the quarter-finals.
Those Beijing performances had the NBA players talking about Mills, while the world's media latched on to a new rising star.
Not that Mills, who only turned 20 in August, is counting on stepping straight into the NBA. Indeed, he is not so sure that he will leave St Mary's at season's end, as everyone expects.
"The Olympics gave me a sense of what it's like to play against the best in the world," Mills said.
"Playing in the NBA is one of my long-term goals. But playing two games (against the NBA players at the Olympics) isn't a full season. I know I have an enormous way to go to reach that level. I firmly believe I'm not ready . . . "
There is very little pretence, if any at all, about Mills, who embraces the notion of Aussie spirit, mateship and having a go regardless of the odds.
As the young gun put it, you have to put it before the clash with the US - you just have to put your "best foot forward and give it a good crack".
For Mills, that next big step is into the NBA. When is just a matter of time.
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