Recruiting Report: Patrick Vasquez (2016)
Patrick Vasquez wasn’t going to let his team go quietly. Fort Lupton was down by 20 points entering the fourth quarter in a game against Erie on Dec. 7, and Vasquez, Fort Lupton’s senior point guard, knew it was his…
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Continue ReadingPatrick Vasquez wasn’t going to let his team go quietly.
Fort Lupton was down by 20 points entering the fourth quarter in a game against Erie on Dec. 7, and Vasquez, Fort Lupton’s senior point guard, knew it was his time to take over.
During the next eight minutes, Vasquez scored 25 points to help the Blue Devils streak to an improbable 77-75 victory.
“He was in attack mode, essentially,” Fort Lupton coach Jim Roedel said. “He kind of just put everybody on his back and took over. He essentially said, ‘I’m the best player on the floor and I’m going to show you.’”
Vasquez scored 39 points in all that night, the highlight of what has been a strong start to a senior season the 6-foot guard hopes will lead him to the next level. He knocked down 11-of-12 free throws, nailed a pair of 3-pointers and scored buckets on four drives to the lane in the fourth quarter alone.
In short, Vasquez showed in those eight minutes the improvements he spent a summer trying to create.
“At the end of my junior season, I knew my perimeter shooting wasn’t where it needed to be,” Vasquez said. “And I had a left hand, but it wasn’t as strong as I wanted it to be. After playing with Billups Select and working with them over the summer, they really worked with me over the summer at getting my timing down and getting that rhythm going and just making me a stronger ball-handler going to the rim. So that’s what I focused on over the summer, just working on my perimeter shooting, moving the ball with my teammates and learning how to be a better ball-handler in general.”
Vasquez said he has already seen the results of his work with Billups transform his play on the court this season. He’s more confident in taking a contested perimeter jump shot, more confident with taking a defender off the dribble with his left hand.
Roedel has seen the skill improvements in Vasquez’s game, but the Fort Lupton coach thinks his star pupil gained something else from his competitive summer with the Billups program.
“He’s developed a maturity level in terms of being able to be aggressive at times and get his teammates involved. He learned a lot over the summer working with Billups Elite. He goes from here, being the best player, to going there and being the seventh, eighth, ninth guy on that roster. I think he had to become a little bit of a role player, so that maturity in his game really went up in terms of working as a teammate.”
Now Vasquez wants to realize a dream his had since he can remember of playing college basketball. He’s had some strong junior-college interest, as well as some contact with Division II programs. No matter where it is, Vasquez is determined to bring his toughness and competitiveness to the next level.
“I have to thank my coach and my family for always being behind me throughout my high school career,” Vasquez said. “I couldn’t have gotten here without them.”