So, Vaurice Patterson, are you ready to give up your football scholarship at Northern Illinois to play basketball?
”Uh, uh,” the freshman guard/wide receiver said, shaking his head as he ran into the night Saturday, having scored 10 points in sparking the Huskies to a 106-100 victory over Chicago State.
Two weeks after joining the shorthanded basketball team, Patterson made his presence felt in a big way. He drilled a three-pointer on his first collegiate shot, handed out three assists and committed only one turnover in 24 1/2 minutes of play.
”He was the key for us,” said coach Brian Hammel, who had six players score in double figures, led by Brian Molis and Mike Hidden with 25 apiece.
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”He had an outstanding floor game considering as much (or little) as he knows about what we want done.
”Both halves we put him in we went on spurts.”
His three-pointer in the first half came in the middle of a 27-9 NIU run that wiped put a 28-21 deficit. With Northern clinging to a 74-70 lead in the second half, he made a steal near midcourt, sprinted past a defender and made a reverse layup.
”He made a play out of no play,” said Hammel.
Patterson, who averaged 28 points a game for Conant High School last season, wouldn`t even be on the team if a couple players hadn`t gotten kicked off and guard Mike Lipnisky hadn`t suffered a back injury.
But the Huskies are glad they have him with Xavier coming to De Kalb for a 7:05 p.m. game Monday and the Mid-Continent Conference season beginning Thursday with Valparaiso at Evans Field House.
”I didn`t think I`d be out there this soon,” said Patterson. ”I thought it would take three or four weeks. But I picked up the system fast, although I still have things to learn.”
His tremendous natural ability will carry him until he masters the total system.
”I had heard he could shoot,” said Hammel. ”But he does a lot of nice things. He does little things that are hard to coach.
”Like when he penetrates, if the play isn`t there, he backs out with the dribble instead of picking up the ball. The point guard has to have poise, and he does a nice job of that.”