Patrick Baldwin Jr. is taking a non-traditional path to the NBA by attending UW-Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE — Patrick Baldwin Jr. made an unconventional decision this past offseason to attend UW-Milwaukee instead of traditional blue blood basketball programs like Duke and Kansas. Baldwin Jr. was one of the highest rated recruits in the 2021 high school basketball recruiting class, as the 6-foot-9 forward possesses a unique skill set for a player of his size.
Baldwin Jr. played high school basketball at Sussex Hamilton High School and during his time there he earned a consensus 5-star ranking, making him one of the highest ranked recruits in the country. During his freshman year, he helped lead his team to the state championship game where they eventually lost to Oshkosh North High School. Due to a great junior season, Baldwin Jr. earned Gatorade Player of the Year honors for the state of Wisconsin. Hopes were high for him entering his senior season, but his season was cut short by an ankle injury during the team鈥檚 second game. Despite missing almost the entirety of his senior season, Baldwin Jr. was selected for the rosters of the McDonald鈥檚 All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoops Summit teams.
Baldwin Jr. received numerous scholarship offers from some of college basketball鈥檚 elite programs, including schools like Duke, Kansas, Georgetown, Michigan and Wisconsin. Baldwin Jr. possesses a unique skill set for someone the height of 6-foot-9, as he is an efficient shooter from outside. This helped him to become a highly sought after recruit. Baldwin Jr. even earned the unique honor of being the youngest player to be offered a scholarship by Duke during his sophomore season. However, he decided to attend the mid-major program of UW-Milwaukee partially due to the fact that his father, Patrick Baldwin Sr., is the head coach of the school鈥檚 basketball program. The decision was unconventional for someone of Baldwin Jr.’s ranking, but it has given Panthers basketball fans something to be extremely excited about this season.
Fans are hoping that their highest rated recruit in team history will lead them to a conference championship and a return to the NCAA men鈥檚 basketball tournament, something the team hasn鈥檛 accomplished since 2014. The Panthers play in the Horizon League which is mainly composed of similar sized schools to UW-Milwaukee, so in order to make it to March Madness, they will likely need to win their conference tournament. The Panthers earned conference championships in 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2014, all of which earned them an invitation to March Madness due to every conference champion getting an automatic bid.
Things are looking promising in Milwaukee as Baldwin Jr. tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds in a win against North Dakota this past Tuesday. Many NBA mock drafts have Baldwin Jr. being a 1st round selection next year, but before looking to the draft, Baldwin Jr. will focus on bringing success to the Panthers basketball team this season.
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