Whatever Happened To … former 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.”
Patton, 31, earned All-Ohio honors as a senior at Valley Forge and became just the second player in YSU history to score 1,000 points and have 400 assists before graduating in 2002.
The 6-0 guard plays for the Sheffield Sharks, the defending champions of the British Basketball League. The season lasts from September to May and teams play about twice a week. The Sharks, 30-6 one year ago, are in the BBL Championship Finals, which begin next week. Patton is averaging 18 points a game and is in the league’s top five in assists, 3-point shooting percentage and free throw percentage.
“I would have considered playing anywhere in Europe,” Patton said in an e-mail. “England was the first country that I played in. I played a short time in Qatar, but it’s beneficial to be in a country without a language barrier and I felt at home in England.”
Each BBL squad is permitted to have just three Americans on its roster.
“That puts a little added pressure on me to keep performing well,” he said. “It’s good to have played at the college level in the States because it was a pressured environment. We get treated well here, your accommodations and car are paid for and the English fans and management are very supportive.”
Soccer remains king in England but Patton said basketball’s status is improving.
“Basketball is not one of the top sports in the country so we don’t pull in the same crowds,” he said. “Our games are showing now on Sky sports, which will improve the profile and popularity of basketball in the UK. The Cup Championships and the finals always draw big crowds and a great atmosphere.”
Patton still spends his summers in Ohio and has begun running basketball camps at local schools.
“I’ll play as long as my body allows me to,” he said.
Spoken like a true gym rat.
– Tim Rogers