Patrick O'Bryant

From Hoopedia

Patrick O'Bryant (born June 20, 1986, in Oskaloosa, Iowa) plays for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association, who drafted him 9th overall in the 2006 NBA Draft. He attended Bradley University for two years and led the Braves to the Sweet Sixteen of the 2006 NCAA tournament before losing to Memphis. His breakout performance at the tournament caught the eyes of NBA scouts. O'Bryant was sent down to the NBA Development League on December 30th, 2006 to the Bakersfield Jam. On February 19, 2007, O'Bryant was recalled.

O'Bryant was a late bloomer who was not heavily recruited out of high school. He plays center and is known for his shot-blocking ability — he led the Missouri Valley Conference in blocks for two straight years — and is also a solid rebounder. His offensive game also features a skyhook. Despite months of being in the D-League, he has yet to prove himself and is probably one of the worst lottery picks the Golden State Warriors have ever had.

On September 6, 2006 O'Bryant was diagnosed with a fracture in his right foot. He was placed in an immobilizing boot on the injured foot and missed six weeks of training camp. He has played sparingly so far in the 2006-07 season, and is not expected to crack the rotation soon with the current running style of the Warriors. Warriors coach Don Nelson had critical words for him; "I told him if he goes down to the D-League and isn't a dominant player, there should be red flags all over the place, and he should be the first to notice. He's not only not dominating, he's not playing very well. He's a long-term project. I really liked him the first week of training camp, but I assumed there would be great progress. He hasn't gotten better one bit."