Valley Forge basketball standout Ryan Patton
Some guys will go to great lengths to extend their basketball playing days.
Former Valley Forge and Youngstown State star Ryan Patton went farther than most. He went all the way to England, with a brief stint in Qatar.
Patton, who led Forge to a Division I regional final in 1997 and scored more than 800 points in just two high school seasons, is in his sixth year as a European professional and his playing career is not much different than it was in the United States.
He still is a terrific shooter and scorer. “I always thought he would end up playing professionally somewhere,” said John Stavole, who coached Patton for two seasons after he transferred from Holy Name to Valley Forge. “If ‘gym-rat’ was in the dictionary, his picture would be there. He just loved to play. He was the kind of kid you loved to coach.”
[MORE]