Talented Wing, Lamar Patterson Looking Forward To The Future

by Matt Whitfield


Lamar Patterson is one of the Garden State’s top seniors. He is a 6’5, 220 pound Small Forward who has committed to play next year for Jamie Dixon at Pittsburgh.

Patterson is the younger brother of former Syracuse QB Perry Patterson, so it is no surprise that he choose to play basketball for a top school school in the Big East, rather than a well known school in another top conference such as the ACC or Big Ten, where he attracted a fair amount of interest, including scholarship offers from Michigan, Miami, Rutgers, and Penn State. However, according to Patterson he choose Pittsburgh because, “It was my style of play. [They're] real physical, [they] bring it up and down the court.”

Patterson transferred to nationally ranked powerhouse St. Benedict’s for his senior from Mccaskey High School in Lancaster (PA) with an eye on his future.

“I just wanted to get in shape to get ready for there [Pittsburgh].”

Playing on a team coached by Danny Hurley, and going up against talented teams such as Lincoln, St. Patrick's, Mater Dei, Whitney Young, and Rice will certainly do that for Patterson. Being in the Garden State also, Patterson indicated he connected with future Pittsburgh Panther, slashing Point Guard Isaiah Epps.

“The coaches up there were telling me to talk to him before he committed,” Patterson said. “It’s good we got a point guard like that.”

Patterson and Epps should be a tandem to be reckoned with in the future. But for now Patterson is known for being a tough, physical wing that pounds the glass and has a great work ethic.

Sure Patterson will have to improve some things but according to Patterson, Coach Dixon, “gets what he wants out of his players,” and thus, while not expecting to start right away next year, Patterson stated, “I [do] expect some playing time.”

Things for Patterson are certainly starting to get interesting as besides being a part of a good Panther recruiting class, Patterson stated, “I was always at Syracuse [visiting my older brother] so [now] we have a little family rivalry going on.”

Sibling rivalry or not, with the basketball pipeline flowing for both Pitt and SU, these schools should have great matchups for years to come in the Big East.

For more on Patterson, including his play at the recent Newark Invitational, visit the NBE Basketball Report to learn about everything on the Big East.