Avery Patterson

Had been sched'd to visit Apr 15.
Verballed to St Johns 4/10/06

04/10/06: "Patterson returned from an official campus visit yesterday, spoke with Morris and declared that he would accept St. John's scholarship offer. He will be a junior next season and, given that his accurate shooting addresses a major Red Storm shortcoming, he will have a chance to start come fall." - NY Daily News

04/06/06: "Patterson, the No. 56 ranked junior college prospect in the class of 2006, is ready to take the next step forward in his recruitment. Having already taken an official visit to Wyoming, three additional visits have been planned. "Avery is taking a visit to St. John's this weekend," said Bankhead. "He will then travel to Miami-FL next weekend and then finish up with a trip to Cincinnati. Coach Tom Izzo is supposed to be coming in next week to see Avery. Oh, Mississippi State is another school that is very interested." - www.RivalsHoops.com (from 5 to 4, since he has a lot of visits)

04/06/06: Avery Patterson had his recruitment pretty well under control until Iowa Western C.C. made a post-season run that culminated in the junior college's recent fourth place finish at the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. (snip) While that potential visit is at best uncertain, Patterson has three visits scheduled this month. He will spend this weekend at St. John's (Apr. 6-8), and then piggy back visits to Miami (Apr. 14-16) and Cincinnati (Apr. 16-18) next weekend." - ScoutHoops.com

Averaged 20 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.6 spg. Also was 43% shooting, 37% 3FG% and 82 FT% for Iowa Western in 05-06 season. Originally from Kannapolis, NC. - Mike Ryan

03/29/06: Named to the 12 man NJCAA All-Tournament Team.

03/25/06: "Avery Patterson, a slinky 6-4 sophomore shooting guard from Iowa Western Junior College in Iowa, is a skilled player who has the ability to drop down jumpers. He helped Iowa Western in its playoff game in Hutchinson, Kansas by recording 24 points (9/18 FGs, 5/12 treys). He is a key spring recruiting target for Wyoming, Miami (FL) and St. John's." - www.ScoutHoops.com

08/23/05: "Iowa Western assistant coach John Jungers told Hoopmasters that Patterson is hearing from Charlotte, St. Bonaventure, Arizona State, USC, San Francisco, Creighton, Utah State, Appalachian State and Drake." - www.HoopMasters.com

--- 2004 ---

04/14/04:
Patterson takes big dreams to small school
By Mike London, Kannapolis Citizen
April 14, 2004

Chances are pretty good that no one in Kannapolis had ever heard of Southwest Missouri State University-West Plains until a few days ago.

But local hoops fans will be closely following the SMSU-WP Grizzlies now that A.L. Brown basketball star Avery Patterson has announced his intentions to accept a scholarship to the junior college.

The school is out there. Way out there. It's in the rural southern part of Missouri, a lot closer to the opossums and pigs of Arkansas than to the bright lights of St. Louis and Kansas City.

Patterson, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 23.3 points a game, is a Division I talent but started late academically and is still playing catch-up in the fourth quarter. That's why he's heading somewhere you never heard of.

The good news for Patterson is that even though SMSU-WP isn't located on the main hoops highway, it's not necessarily the end of the road.

Kenkay Jones, who started for UNCCharlotte a few years ago, went there, and so did Jason Detrick, who was a key player for Oklahoma this season.

The Grizzlies have a stable program, they always win (256-98 the last 10 seasons) and they always send players to four-year schools. Patterson, who has good athleticism and a really sweet jump shot to go with his size, could be the next Grizzly to make noise.

Everyone, including Patterson and his coach at Brown, Shelwyn Klutz, were pretty sure A.P. was headed to prep school until two weeks ago. Patterson had already worked out for the premier prep schools in the area, including Fork Union, and everyone who saw him was excited.

The plan was to go to Fork Union or Hargrave Military for one year, then transfer to a Division I program.

There were plenty of takers. A number of mid-major Division I schools, including Delaware, Colgate, South Carolina State and High Point, were jostling for position to enroll Patterson the minute he qualified academically.

But everything changed when Patterson got an unexpected recruiting call from SMSU-WP.

Patterson had been recommended by Terry Rogers. Rogers, a legendary high school coach in North Carolina and now the coach at Mars Hill, had been impressed by Patterson's play in an AAU game and had passed along the word that the kid could play.

SMSU-WP wanted Patterson and 6-foot-7 Hopewell High stud Leon Spencer to fly out to check out the campus and meet the players and coaches. They did. "I didn't like my first plane flight much," Patterson groaned. "It hurt my stomach a little bit."

But he liked the school and head coach Tom Barr and he liked the idea of playing against talented junior college competition -- Indian Hills, Barton County, Coffeyville, Southern Idaho and all the rest.

Patterson scrimmaged against the Grizzly's current star, Terrell Everett, a 6-4 kid from Charleston, S.C. He held his own against Everett, the region player of the year and a future Oklahoma Sooner, so the coaches at SMSU-WP were glad to make an offer. "I think Avery fell in love with the little town where the school is because it sounds a lot like Kannapolis," said Patterson's father, Avery Patterson Sr. "This opportunity was like a blessing. We were trying to decide on prep schools and then this came along."

Patterson Sr. would love to see his son fulfill his hoop dreams because he didn't get that chance.

The older Patterson is the same height as his son and was a very good player. But he had children early and traded basketball for making a living to support a growing family.

Patterson Sr. later made a name for himself in local rec leagues and did his best to pass on his skills and knowledge to his son. "I'd watch Avery in high school and sometimes teams would just let him have his way" his dad said. "You have to teach kids it's not always gonna be easy."

Avery became the "special project" of not only his father but all his father's teammates by the time he reached high school. "We saw the potential there, and we planted the seed," Patterson Sr. said. "After that, you have to let God do the rest."

Patterson was 3A North Piedmont Conference co-player of the year as a junior, but he might've been prouder of finally beating his 40-year-old dad one-on-one for the first time during that season.

The younger Patterson attended North Rowan as a freshman and didn't take academics seriously. That was a mistake for which he is still paying a price. He's done OK after transferring to Brown. "Avery's improved every single year in the classroom," his Dad said. "But his freshman year was bad and that got him behind. But it's not like he's a bad kid, he's a good kid. He hangs out with the right people. It's not like he's in a gang or something."

Many West Plains athletes go on to play for the Division I Southwest Missouri State University Bears, who are 110 miles away in Springfield. Patterson might become a Bear two years from now, but he could also end up just about anywhere.

Wherever he goes, his family will be there to support him. "I've told him I'll be there," said Patterson Sr. "Drive or fly, I'll be there. He's the first of the children to go to college."

The younger Patterson, who expects to play No. 2 guard with occasional stints at the point, is looking forward to college life and vows he won't be homesick. "It's a long way, but I'm going to be all right out there," he said.

Both Pattersons say the ultimate goal is for Avery to play pro ball. That dream may happen, but even if it doesn't, the opportunity for a free education is like an easy rebound, just waiting for the kid to grab it. "I trust Avery and I can't say enough good things about him," his dad said. "He'll keep God first and he'll make everyone in Kannapolis proud."