Ja’s Patterson pleased with basketball journey
Published:Friday | September 29, 2023 | 12:09 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
BORN in Bronx, New York, to Jamaican parents, Marcus Patterson says he fell in love with basketball while growing up and watching his older brothers on the court. Patterson, who attended the Mount Saint Michael Academy and Russell Sage College, went undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft but is happy creating a name for himself on the European circuit.
“To be honest, I always had dreams of going to the NBA but that didn’t work out and that’s fine. I’ve had a good career playing in Europe and I’m perfectly fine being in the European market,” he stated.
The 28-year-old Patterson, who has had the privilege of playing in England, Portugal and Albania, is currently in the preparation phase along with the Jamaican team for their upcoming 3x3 International Cup in Sacramento set to start on October 1. He added that playing in Europe is extremely challenging due to the physicality of the league.
“The European league is extremely tough and a lot of people think it’s harder to play in Europe than in the NBA. That’s because of the physicality as it’s a very pure, traditional way of playing basketball. It’s very team orientated and it’s very challenging, and as an imported player, Jamaican-American, you might not get certain calls that you might get in the States. So that makes it more physical and a lot harder to play,” he added.
Patterson, who is expected to make his debut at the upcoming International Cup, is a shooting guard who at the collegiate level was named the school’s male athlete of the year back in the 2016/17 season and ended his playing days tallying a total of 1021 points, the third most among the school’s male players. He revealed that he has patterned his game after the likes of NBA players Demar Derozan and Carmelo Anthony.
“I’ve watched guys like Demar Derozan and Carmelo Anthony because at my size, especially in Europe, I may be bigger and at times smaller than a guard, so I take advantage of mismatch opportunities, hence why I like watching guys who play on the wing,” he revealed.
As to one player he would relish the opportunity to go one-on-one against, Patterson shared that Lebron James would be that player.
“LeBron James for sure. I just think he’s the greatest player of all-time as you’re looking at a basketball player who impacts the game both on and off the court and makes players around him better,” he said.