Trey Patterson Waits for Colleges to Take Notice

Every now and then a talented player will slip through the cracks. For whatever reason, coaches and scouts alike will all miss on a player that could make a major impact on their program.

In the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League this tends to be rare. Most players are stars for their high school team and make a seamless transition to standing out in the EYBL. Performing so well on such a large stage can mean offers rolling in almost instantly.

Texas Titans’ point guard Trey Patterson is officially one of the former.

“I have no offers as of yet.”

There are 346 Division 1 basketball schools, and Patterson doesn’t hold a scholarship offer from any of them. Albeit for an athlete playing in the top AAU Circuit in the country. Something doesn’t add up.

Lewis “Trey” Patterson III is a 6-foot-3 point guard from Plano East High School in Dallas, Texas. Before suiting up for the Titans in the summer, Patterson played his junior year on a loaded Plano East squad. He started most of the season on a team that ended the season 30-6, becoming a reliable ball-distributor and an exceptional defender.

Then came the EYBL season, where Patterson was surrounded with talent on the Titans’ roster. Playing alongside Alex Robinson (Texas A&M commit), Avery Johnson Jr., D.J. Hogg and Soso Jamabo, Patterson knew playing time would have to be earned and cherished.

Titans’ Head Coach Scott Pospichal, who has coached numerous high-major talents, had the un-enviable job of delegating minutes. He explained how frustrating it is to juggle playing time.

“It’s just hard for him to get the minutes in this league with others around him. Here’s the problem and here’s what you have to look at in the EYBL; it’s almost like you’re playing in the NBA. How many All-Stars are in the NBA? 24? 24 is not as good as 1. But he’s still an all-star. Let’s look at Alex Robinson. He’s so good, I think the world of him. But Trey Patterson is a better on-ball defender than him. I just had to figure out how to use his talent efficiently.”

Using him efficiently meant using his core-strength: defense. The lanky point guard has a motor for days and knows how to fluster an opponent.

“He’s such a great defender,” Pospichal said. “Here’s the wrap on Trey and recruiting, it comes down to him not scoring the basketball. But who’s going to guard the best player on the other team? Trey is. We used him as a specialist.”

And a specialist, he was. Listed below are match-ups in which Patterson played 18+ minutes, while being asked to do one thing: play defense exclusively against the opposing team’s top scoring guard:

vs Playground Elite SG Rashad Vaughn – 13 points (4-15 FG), 4 TO (31 MP)
vs Georgia Stars SG Devin Mitchell – 3 points (1-8 FG), 2 TO (17 MP)
vs Team Texas Elite SG Austin Grandstaff – 6 points (2-6 FG) 2 TO (30 MP)
vs New Jersey Playaz SG Isaiah Briscoe – 23 points (7-23 FG) 5 TO (29 MP)
vs Boo Williams SG Robert Johnson – 13 points (5-15 FG), 3 TO (28 MP)

In these five match ups, Patterson held his opponent to a combined 29.6 FG% and forced an average of 3.2 turnovers per game. The impressiveness of the numbers speak for themselves, considering the talent-level of the opposition. Somehow, his remarkable defensive performances have gone almost completely unnoticed to every college in the area.

While each matchup was tough in its own way, Patterson pinpoints his matchup with Rashad Vaughn as a turning point regarding how he should approach his defensive-focused role.

“I started studying his game before playing him. I was wondering, ‘how am I gonna stop him?’ I decided ‘you know what, I’m gonna guard him like he’s a nobody.’ My mindset was to make sure he didn’t score. Don’t give him too much respect.

When asked about what impressed him the most about Patterson other than his defense, Pospichal spoke to his work-ethic and team-first mentality.

“His dad has him up at the school at 6:30 AM. He would always be first at Titans’ practice, and always get 300-400 shots up before it started. He’s a dunker, he’s a high-level athlete. He’s already got all that.”

“Our kids are really high-character kids,” Pospichal added. “Trey is the type of kid that will help recruit others. There are lots of reasons to like Trey Patterson. Our Titans organization embraced their family and loved them, thinks the world him.”

When asked why he believed so many scouts and coaches have missed on Trey, his father, Lewis Patterson Jr., seemed matter-of-fact.

“On some of the scouting sites, he was listed as a small-forward. No Division 1 program is going to recruit a 6-foot-3 small forward. Little things like that make a big impact when you aren’t a big time recruit.

Pospichal agreed, speculating that playing in the EYBL may have actually hindered Patterson’s ability to get noticed.

“They’re looking at the ‘lists’.” Pospichal said, referencing Trey’s absence from the national recruiting rankings. “That’s probably my fault for not talking about him, but again, it goes back to when I look for in a college basketball player coming from the EYBL. First, he’s already used to playing the best talent there is. So he’s not going to be intimidated when he gets to your program, because he’s already played against Jabari Parker, Jahlil Okafor, and whoever else. And secondly, he’s a great student, 3.3 GPA, understands travel, he gets it. It makes too much sense to recruit him.

While Patterson is confused about his lack of recruitment, his sole goal is to remain focused on his upcoming senior year at Plano East.

“It’s been pretty frustrating behind the scenes. I’m just focused on winning when I’m on the floor. That’s it. But it’s frustrating not getting noticed.

Proving that he can score is his top goal heading into the high school season.

“I want to prove that I can score,” Patterson added. “I’m not just a good defender, and with more opportunities, I’ll be able to show that.

His high school coach, Jeff Clarkson, shared that sentiment. He also spoke about his role heading into the season.

“Trey was a starter most of the year on a 30-6 team that made it to the regional semifinals. He was more of a role player last year that distributed the ball. This year he will be expected to score and be aggressive. He’s very athletic and an exceptional defender. The big key for Trey will be knocking down the jump shot. If he can do that consistently, he will be tough to guard.”

Pospichal didn’t seem worried about Patterson’s scoring ability.

“I saw Trey score 32 points in a summer league game. He’ll score 12-16 points a game and have a couple blowup games. And his team will win.”

Heading into the season, Patterson understands the opportunity in front of him. It’s late in the game, but he still has plenty of time to convince teams what Scott Pospichal is already certain of.

“Do I believe Trey Patterson is a Division 1 basketball player? No question about it.”