Hoops Diamond-in-the-Rough

Sometimes a jewel can be mined from a remote source. That certainly could be the case for lanky Dustin Patchen, a 6-foot-6 junior basketball player from Colton.

During three days at the State 1B basketball tournament (Hardwood Classic) in the Spokane Arena, Patchen was impressive. He was a state tournament leader in several statistical categories including blocked shots.

Patchen averaged 25 points per game, including 31 in a semifinal loss to Neah Bay. He set a tournament single game record with 22 rebounds (giving him 46 in three games) in Saturday’s game for third and fifth, a second narrow loss, to Almira/Coulee-Hartline.

The stats stood out, but moreso was his silky soft shooting touch and, with large and surprising strong hands given his thin 195-pound frame, the ability to secure the basketball in a crowd and score with people hanging all over him.

“And he’s a young junior who technically coould be a sophomore,” said his coach, Seth Paine. “He can get up and down the floor good for a big kid, has pretty good feet and has got an unbelievably soft touch. Plus he’s a hard working kid. I think the only person who can stop Dustin is Dustin. If he wants to play at a four-year school, I think he’s very capable of doing that.”

Patchen said playing in college is his goal and admits he’s a work in progress.

“I think I should get more of an outside game (although he made a 3-pointer against ACH) and play a little better defense,” said Patchen.

He credits hard work and his dad, a former player at Clarkston and Lewis-Clark State, helping to develop his skills.

He will play with a Spokane AAU traveling team this summer.

After watching him for three days, it seems a budding talent is out there. He has yet to grow into his body (which he said, could add two more inches).

If so, and he increases his strength to better agility, Dustin Patchen, from the tiny farming community of Colton, which made its first boys state basketball trophy and won its initial trophy, has the potential to be a college recruiting diamond-in-the rough.