Pat Connaughton: Phoenix Suns 2015 Draft Profile
Strengths
A physical wing and a good rebounder for his 6’5″ frame, Connaughton helped the Fighting Irish defy the odds and battle Kentucky’s elite bigs in the Elite Eight. Notre Dame fell two points short of handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season, but the fire Connaughton and Zach Auguste showed in the paint against Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein did not go unnoticed.
In that Elite Eight elimination game, Connaughton had a poor offensive outing, going 3-for-10 from the floor. But he also tallied nine rebounds — equivalent to what Towns and Cauley-Stein had combined. As it turns out, his feathery White Goodman hair isn’t an accurate indicator of how tough and physical he is.
Before answering questions, Pat Connaughton asked how his hair looked. I told him "fantastic" because it really was.
— Matt Petersen (@TheMattPetersen) June 2, 2015
“Everyone always asks the question, ‘Do you love to win or do you hate to lose?’ and my answer to that question is always ‘Hate to lose,'” he said. “The ‘hate to lose’ is something that drives me to be on the winning side. Someone always always quits, you’ve just got to be mentally stronger and mentally tougher to find yourself on the side where, when the clock goes off, your team is ahead of the other.”
Connaughton’s shooting ability is another huge boost to his draft stock. He made 42.3 percent of his three-pointers on 5.8 attempts per game in his final collegiate season, showing off deep range with a pure shooting stroke. For an undersized player like him to excel, spreading the floor with a three-point shot is paramount.
Finally, Pat Connaughton is a highly underrated athlete, which was true before he recorded the second-best vertical leap in NBA Draft Combine history at 44″. This guy isn’t “deceptively athletic,” he’s downright athletic. Between that athleticism, his motor and his shooting, if Connaughton’s attempts to land on an NBA roster fail, it won’t be for lack of trying.
Next: Weaknesses