Creighton freshman Justin Patton, a possible lottery selection, will enter the 2017 NBA draft and sign with an agent.

“I’m all in and this is everything that I’ve wanted,” Patton told The Vertical. “I talked this over with my family and gained a perspective. Whatever I have to do for a team, I’ll do it. I pride myself on going to the gym, working until I tire out and being the best that I can be.

“I’m a really competitive person, so I want to be the first big man taken in the draft. I know not everyone gets this opportunity.”

Patton, a 7-foot center, averaged 12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 35 games this season. Patton is part of a talented pool of big-man prospects – along with Texas’ Jarrett Allen, Wake Forest’s John Collins and Gonzaga’s Zach Collins – competing for spots in the lottery. Team executives told The Vertical that Patton could land a spot in the top 10 with strong predraft workouts.

Patton, 19, is projected to be selected at No. 17 in The Vertical’s latest mock draft by Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.

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