By Anthony Jaskulski

Lamar Patterson has worked a solid all-around basketball game into the status of a top recruit nationally in the class of 2009. The Pittsburgh Panthers saw this early on and received an early commitment from Patterson last season.

The brother of former Syracuse quarterback Perry Patterson, Lamar is a physical and versatile small forward that hung up his football cleats to pursue a opportunities in basketball, and it looks like a wise decision.

At 6’5 abd 220 pounds, Lamar averaged 22 points per game at J.P. McCaskey High School in Lancaster, PA last season.

Committing verbally to Pitt in late December, Patterson looks to bring his raw strength and exceptional talent to the Big East conference in the near future.

Here is what Lamar has to say in a Q&A segment:

Q. What did you think of the Pittsburgh Jam Fest and getting a chance to play on the court that you’ll be calling home for your college career, the Petersen Events Center?

A. I thought it (Jam Fest) was real nice, and I liked getting a good feel on the court I’m going to be playing on. Pitt has a nice atmosphere and I’m looking forward to contributing.

Q. What do you think of Pittsburgh Head Coach Jamie Dixon and of the system you will be coming into at Pitt?

A. I love coach Dixon. He’s a great guy, and he shows that he cares for his guys a lot and he just knows what he’s doing. In terms of X’s and O’s I think he is one of the best at what he does.

Q. Is your game at the level you want it to be at yet coming into your last year before moving onto Pitt?

A. I think I have to pick my game up if I want to play on this (Petersen Events Center) court in the future. I want to be able to bring a full game to the table and get as perfect as I possibly can, and I’m working on it everyday.

Q. What do you think your best attribute to your game is?

A. I think my passing and trying to find the open man is what I do best. You have the rest of your teammates that make you and the team that much better, and it’s important to get everybody a touch and involved.

Q. What area do you think you need to improve on with your game?

A. I want to improve everything. My dribbling, my shooting, rebounding, every category I want to get better at. There is always room for improvement in basketball.

Q. Do you consider yourself more of a hype player, that can bring the fans into a game on one play, or more of a team player that gets everybody involved in clutch situations?

A. I’m more a team player. I don’t really care what the crowd thinks. I just want to get my teammates involved and get a win above all.

Q. Is there pressure in your game knowing that you are a top recruit?

A. It’s a little bit of pressure, and sometimes you think about it, but mostly I just go out and play my game. When you’re not thinking as much is when you play your best games I think.

Q. What basketball player have you looked up to and most tried to emulate?

A. Magic Johnson is my favorite player and I like to think I can resemble him in a way. He had that great jump-shot and I’m working to get mine at that kind of level.

Anthony Jaskulski covers the University of Pittsburgh basketball beat as well as the Pittsburgh high school beat for the Pittsburgh Sports Report. Look for more of Anthony’s in the future at the NBE Basketball Report.

Related Articles:
Jam Fest Q&A: Andrew Fitzgerald
Jam Fest Q&A: Dion Waiters
Pittsburgh Jam Fest: Day Three
Pittsburgh Jam Fest: Day Two
Pittsburgh Jam Fest: Day One

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Pittsburgh Recruiting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.