Patrick Patterson

Here's what sophomore center Patrick Patterson had to say about new UK coach John Calipari. Question: Can you just talk a little a bit about the meeting the team had with coach Calipari this morning? Patterson: "It was pretty cool. It was really straightforward. He just told us what was going to happen in the next couple of weeks. He said he had to go back to Memphis and give a press conference with the people there. He still feels special about the people back there because that's where he started to really get rolling after UMass.

LEXINGTON ? Patrick Patterson had a lot of reasons for wanting to come back to Kentucky another year rather than leaving for the NBA. While winning a national championship and graduating were his top priorities, he had one other goal ? win a marquee game. Now he's done that. The Kentucky junior had 19 points, seven rebounds and one blocked shot in UK's 68-66 victory over No. 10 North Carolina, the same Tar Heels who won the national championship last season and had defeated UK five straight years.

When Patrick Patterson looks at the NBA rosters this season, he's going to see familiar faces. It could be his former high school teammate, O.J. Mayo, who left Southern California after one season to play in the NBA. Or Michael Beasley, who played in the same all-star games as Patterson and left Kansas State for the riches of the NBA. Or maybe it's Eric Gordon and Derrick Rose, who left Indiana and Memphis after one season because they were first-round...

LEXINGTON - No one ever had to explain the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry to Patrick Patterson. "I understand the rivalry. I know all about Louisville fans hating Kentucky and Kentucky fans hating Louisville," said the Kentucky sophomore. Even though Patterson is a West Virginia native, he understands the significance of Sunday's Kentucky-Louisville game to UK fans because of the constant reminders he gets from fans about the Cardinals. "I get constant messages from fans and constant feedback from fans around campus saying, 'Beat Louisville.

LEXINGTON ? Patrick Patterson noticed something different when Kentucky got down by 18 in the first half of the Wildcats' 72-70 triumph over Miami Monday night at Rupp Arena. Although surrounded by a cast of newcomers, including freshman John Wall who made the game-winner in his collegiate debut, Patterson said the Wildcats didn't hit the panic button when the RedHawks were on a red-hot streak. "We had a mindset of not losing," he said. "We wanted to win. Coach (John Calipari)

LEXINGTON ? Patrick Patterson is back. After two sluggish performances in Kentucky's exhibition games, Patterson played like the star player he supposed to be against Morehead State. Seven minutes into Friday's 75-59 win that officially started the John Calipari era, Patterson already had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting and three rebounds, all on the offensive end. He finished with 20 points on 9-for-12 shooting from the field, 12 rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Joe Crawford and Patrick Patterson scored 15 points apiece as Kentucky held off Mississippi 58-54 on Wednesday. Ramel Bradley added 14 points and five rebounds for Kentucky (16-10, 10-3 Southeastern Conference), which moved to within one game of No. 1 Tennessee for first place in the SEC's Eastern Division. The Wildcats play at the Volunteers on Sunday. Chris Warren led Ole Miss with 25 points and Dwayne Curtis had 12 points and 15 rebounds, but the Rebels (18-9, 4-9)

Patrick Patterson is coming back. The Kentucky sophomore forward announced that he will withdraw his name from consideration for the NBA draft and will return for his junior campaign. Patterson, 6-foot-9, said two factors played a role in his decision to return to play another season for the Wildcats. "I have the chance to graduate in three years, which is important to me and my family," Patterson said Friday. "I want to help Kentucky compete for a national title, and even more than that, win its eighth national championship.

What will Kentucky's lineup look like next season? Now that Jodie Meeks won't be returning, John Calipari will have several options to choose from once practice begins in four months. Considering the high-class recruits he has signed since taking over as coach at Kentucky on April 1, Calipari won't be lacking in talent and will have three or more choices when it comes to a starting lineup. Here are a few possibilities: (A) John Wall, Darnell Dodson, Darius Miller, Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins.

LEXINGTON (AP) - Kentucky top scorer Jodie Meeks has decided to leave the Wildcats and remain in consideration for the NBA draft. Coach John Calipari posted Monday morning on Twitter that he was excited for Meeks and wished he had the chance to coach him. The school also released a statement. The decision is one of few setbacks in Calipari's efforts to amass a star-studded roster. He has landed some of the nation's top recruits, and center Patrick Patterson decided not to go pro. Meeks provided one of the few highlights for a lackluster Kentucky season when he scored a team-record 54 points against Tennessee.

LEXINGTON — As Kentucky coach John Calipari got ready to go back to the Rupp Arena court for the second half of Saturday’s win over South Carolina, he spotted former Wildcat Patrick Patterson doing an interview. “Can you stop for a second so I can give my man a hug,” Calipari asked before wrapping his arms around Patterson, a first-round pick of the Houston Rockets last summer after he gave up his senior year at UK. “You are doing well. (Former teammate and Washington rookie)

He’s played against Kentucky, and he’s played at Freedom Hall. Yet Notre Dame senior guard Ben Hansbrough says tonight’s game against the Wildcats is still a game he’s looking forward to. “Kentucky always has a great team, so any game against Kentucky is going to be special,” said Hansbrough. “I’m really looking forward to it.” The Irish play UK in the Big East/SEC Invitational in Freedom Hall tonight. Hansbrough played three times against UK when he was a freshman and sophomore at Mississippi State before he transferred to Notre Dame for his final two seasons.

LEXINGTON – Kentucky handed East Tennessee State its final loss of the season in the NCAA Tournament last year and gave the Buccaneers their first setback in the season-opener for both teams Friday night at Rupp Arena. East Tennessee returned the core of its lineup from last season, including forward Isiah Brown who had a double-double with 25 points and 14 rebounds in an 88-65 loss to the Wildcats. Brown scored 11 points against DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson a year ago, but maneuvered better inside the post against Terrence Jones, Josh Harrellson and Elroy Vargas.

HOOVER, Ala. — Southeastern Conference TV analyst Joe Dean, a former assistant coach at Kentucky, expects a much more wide-open SEC title race this season because of the balance in the Eastern Division where four teams — Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia — have been ranked in preseason polls. Dean could even envision the Wildcats finishing as low as fifth in the SEC East — and still making the NCAA Tournament. Question: Who is going to be the best team in the SEC this year?

LEXINGTON — Being back at the John Calipari Pro Camp on Thursday certainly was a labor of love for DeMarcus Cousins. “It’s fun coming back to Kentucky. It’s something I always enjoy. I consider this home,” said Cousins, the No. 5 pick by the Sacramento Kings in the June NBA draft after his stellar freshman season at Kentucky. He was back working at the first day of Calipari’s three-day camp, which featured No. 1 draft pick John Wall today and first-round picks Patrick Patterson and Eric Bledsoe both Saturday.

Last year Kentucky coach John Calipari had to adjust to having a team that featured three front-court players — DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson and Daniel Orton — who were first-round NBA draft picks. Now the UK coach is going to have what will be a more traditional guard-driven lineup for him. “At times we might play four guards and a big,” Calipari said Monday on the Southeastern Conference teleconference. “We can do that because our guards are big. You can get away with it if you have big guards.

Kentucky coach John Calipari still thinks having five players drafted in the first round, including John Wall as UK’s first ever No. 1 overall pick, was the “biggest day in Kentucky basketball history.” However, the UK coach said during the Southeastern Conference basketball teleconference Monday that it meant no disrespect to any past UK team or any previous Kentucky basketball accomplishments. “Just being able (to be at the draft), I can’t explain the emotions and be able to be part of five families and players realizing their dreams and we were connected to that,” said Calipari.

Kentucky may win a national championship under coach John Calipari, but don’t ever expect to see another night quite like the one Calipari’s Cats had Thursday in New York. Kentucky’s new version of the Fab Five came true when five Wildcats were picked in the first round of the NBA draft — something that had never happened at any school before. Kentucky had never had more than three players picked in the first round — Antoine Walker, Tony Delk and Walter McCarty in 1996 — and only three schools had ever had four players picked in the first round in the same year.

NEW YORK — With five first-round picks in the NBA draft, it was a legendary night for the Kentucky basketball program. For Patrick Patterson, the elder statesman of the group who was selected 14th overall by the Houston Rockets, it was a moment for which he had waited a long time. “It feels great to finally be drafted, and now I get to begin a new chapter in my life,” Patterson said. The junior forward passed on the draft twice before, the second time for a chance to play for with a talented group of freshmen and head coach John Calipari and to get his degree.