A.P. Stands for "A Plus" on the Court

Avery Patterson bounced around, then found a winning home at Tarleton

Patterson makes the finger roll look easy. Photo by Nathan Bural

By Nathan Bural, Texan News Service

In basketball circles, great players are known only by their initials: A.I. for Allen Iverson, K.G. for Kevin Garnett and M.J. for Michael Jordan.

Around the halls of Tarleton State University, there’s a new set of initial -- A.P.

Avery Patterson has gone from playing ball at Iowa Western Junior College to St. John’s University in Queens, N.Y., then found himself as a captain and catalyst for Tarleton’s basketball team as it advanced to the South Central Regional Championship for a chance to go to the Division II Basketball Elite Eight. But the team fell in the final seconds to Central Oklahoma.

Starting his career in Kannapolis, N.C., Patterson came from a large family but a small home.

“I have a big family, but it was just me and my dad. He worked all of the time so I could go to school,” said Patterson.

He has five brothers and five sisters who live with his mother in Salisbury, N.C.

Avery’s father, Avery Sr., helped A.P. start his career at a young age. He has continued to be the driving force behind Patterson’s life every step of the way.

“I got started when I was about five years old,” Patterson said. “It was something I always wanted to do and I had love for it. My dad told me if I wanted to know how to play he would teach me how. He is a hard worker and anything I needed, he got for me.”

When Patterson was invited to go to a basketball during his sophomore year, his father made it possible.

“He’s very supportive and always there for me whenever I need him,” Patterson said. “Besides God, he’s the No. 1 inspiration in my life.”

Academics, however, did not inspire Patterson during high school.

“I didn’t really like school, but I was always eligible,” he said. “I was never really a school person but I did what I had to do to play.”

What enthusiasm he lacked in the classroom, he more than made up for on the court. Patterson racked up several awards as a high school athlete such as All-State, All-Region and two-time team MVP.

His on-the-court play caught the eye of several Division I recruiters. But Patterson’s off-the-court struggles put a quick halt on any dreams he had of playing primetime college basketball.

“I was getting recruited, hard, by the University of South Carolina,” he recalled. “But I missed the SAT. I tried to take it at the last minute and they wouldn’t let me, so I had to go to a junior college for two years.”

A number of junior colleges expressed serious interest in the former A.L. Brown High School guard. One in particular seemed to be the right fit.

“They found me, in a way,” Patterson said. “My high school coach knew the assistant coach at Iowa Western, so I took a visit and signed with them. It was a good program, and the head coach was a good guy. He knew a lot about basketball. He’s similar to Coach (Lonn) Reisman, here at Tarleton. He gave me the freedom to play and let me do what I do.”

In his time spent at IWCC, Patterson was named to the NJCCA All-Star team, set a school record for points scored with 771 in two seasons and averaged 20.3 points per game as a sophomore..

When his junior college days were over, Patterson was getting looks from D-1 programs such as Wyoming, Cincinnati and the University of Miami (Fla.). However, he set his sights on playing for Bill Self at the University of Kansas.

“My decision was based on Brandon Rush (Kansas University’s starting guard),” Patterson said. “If he was going to enter the draft, then I was going to go to Kansas. The coach at Saint John’s had worked for Coach Self, and he told me that if I didn’t go to Kansas then St. John’s would be a good fit for me. But basically, I based my decision off of what Rush decided to do.”

Rush decided to remain a Jayhawk for another season. Patterson was headed to Queens, N.Y., to suit up for St. John’s.

Patterson started 27 of 31 games for the Red Storm in the 2006-2007 campaign and managed to tally 10.3 points per game. He also set a record for St. John’s by connecting on eight 3-pointers in a victory over North Florida.

Patterson was competing on the same court with what are now some of the top names in the NBA. They include Texas’ Kevin Durant when he posted 22 points against the Longhorns on in Nov. 2006. Patterson drained 6-11 3-pointers against UT in its 77-76 loss.

“I love (the pressure and the big crowds),” Patterson said. “That’s what people dream about, taking the last shot or winning the game against a big time team. When you play against someone who is an NBA prospect, like Durant, I love it.”

The love he had for the game soon took a back seat to the locker room troubles with his head coach.

“Me and the coach (at SJU) wasn’t on the same page about my role on the team,” Patterson said. “It wasn’t really my choice, it was just something where, I guess the coach had some good freshman coming in and we came to the decision that it would probably be best for me to leave.”

St. John’s loss was Tarleton’s gain.

“I had other D-1 schools looking at me, but I would’ve had to sit out and I didn’t want to do that because it was my last year,” Patterson said. “A lot of people back home knew about this program down here, and I have some buddies that are playing overseas, and they told me about this program. I knew Limar (Wilson) and Jeff (Henfield) before I got here, and we talked over the phone a couple of times and we decided to come here.”

Tarleton had landed three Division I players to suit up for the purple and white for the 2007-2008 season. They quickly gelled with the rest of the Texans and have come to have a tight relationship away from the hardwood.

“I love the guys, we’re like brothers,” Patterson said. “We all want to win. Nic Cantrell, Dan Eichel and even the freshman are all good guys. This is probably the best group I’ve played with besides my JUCO (junior college) group.”

Despite all of his travels, Patterson still maintains a strong relationship with the man who got his career going in the right direction.

“I talk to my dad every day or every other day,” he said. “But mostly at night because he works. I talk to him mostly about the games, or if I’m in a slump or whatever. We talk about everything and he encourages me.”

Patterson has maintained a 2.75 grade point average at Tarleton and will finish his degree in Sports Management in December.

“It’s been amazing,” Patterson said. “Some people believed I wasn’t going to make it this far. It’s amazing to me to do some of the things that I did and get some of the awards that I got. To go to JUCO and then to St. John’s and to be back with a winning program. I wouldn’t ask for anything else.”

The Texan News Service is a project of Tarleton State University’s journalism program.