Patrick Patterson out for season

February 29, 2008

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Patrick Patterson came into the press conference on crutches on Friday after he found out he had a stress fracture in his left ankle. He will sit out the remainder of the season. Photo by Brad Luttrell | Staff

Story by Travis Waldron | Staff

UK freshman forward Patrick Patterson will miss the remainder of the season after he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left ankle Friday morning, UK Athletics announced.

“Tough day for us,” head coach Billy Gillispie said. “It’s unfortunate, mostly for him as a person. He means so much to our team. I have not been around a freshman that’s been asked to do more and has been there for the team.”

Patterson said he felt pain in the ankle Tuesday morning but that it had subsided enough for him to play Wednesday night against Ole Miss. After the game, it was sore again and the pain didn’t go away. UK’s team doctor suggested the X-Ray this morning, and doctors found the stress fracture.

Patterson will be in a cast for 1-2 weeks before getting an MRI and CAT Scan to monitor progress in the injured ankle.

Patterson is the only freshman in the SEC ranked in the top 10 in both scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 16.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Patterson could become the first SEC freshman to finish in the top 10 in both categories since Georgia’s Jumaine Jones did so in 1997-98, and he is the first SEC freshman post player to average more than 16 points per game since Florida’s Ronnie Williams did so in 1980-81.

The Huntington, W.V. native will now finish the season as the fifth-leading freshman scorer in UK history, only 53 points behind Rex Chapman’s record 464 points in 1987. Patterson is also the fifth-leading freshman rebounder in UK history with 192. He needed just four rebounds to pass Jamal Mashburn for fourth all-time.

Patterson has been named SEC Freshman of the Week three times this season and was in the running for the SEC Newcomer of the Year award, annually given to the SEC’s top freshman or transfer of the season.

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Posted by Travis Waldron | Filed Under Sports 

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