April 24, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball team announced the signing of junior college All-America J.R. Patrick from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (North Dakota State College of Science) to a national letter of intent, announced Head Coach Dick Davey. Patrick, a 6-4 guard, will join the Bronco men's basketball team when classes begin next fall and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
"J.R. is going to be a real asset to our basketball team," said Davey. "He is a really strong perimeter shooter but I think one of his major strengths is his ability to pass the ball. His JC coach, Craig Irwin, has done a great job in developing J.R. into a really intelligent basketball player.
"We are going to be a smaller team next year and we should be able to move the ball up and down the court with a little quicker pace. A lot of our success, however, is going to hinge on our ability to rebound the basketball. I really think we will shoot the ball better from the perimeter and it will help that we have better depth on the outside next year."
Santa Clara has allocated all five of its available scholarships during the 2001-2002 signing period. During the fall signing period, the Broncos signed three freshmen: Travis Niesen (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Brandon Rohe (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) and James Romey (Winnetka, Ill.) to national letters of intent. Last week, Davey announced the signing of junior transfer Alex Kargbo (San Jose, Calif. / De Anza College) to a national letter of intent.
Patrick, a 2000 graduate of Eastglen High School in Edmonton, Alberta, was a NJCAA second-team All-America and a Region XIII selection this season after averaging 16.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, N.D. He ranked ninth nationally in three-point percentage, shooting 49.5 percent from beyond the arc, and was 13th nationally in free throw percentage with 87 percent from the charity stripe. Patrick was a first-team all Mon-Dak Conference honoree after leading his team to a 31-2 overall record and perfect 14-0 conference mark.
Over the last two seasons, the Wildcats compiled a 52-12 record and won back-to-back conference titles. This past season, the team ranked ninth in the final NJCAA Division I poll, finished the season ranked second in the nation in scoring with 104.0 points per game and established 14 school records. NDSCS lost in the regional championship game to the nation's top-ranked team, Schoolcraft College, for the right to advance to NJCAA national tournament.
Patrick joins Steve Ross, Brendan Graves and Steve Nash as recent Bronco players from Canada who have made a positive impact on the Santa Clara men's basketball program under Davey. All three of those players were from Victoria, British Columbia.
2001-2002 Santa Clara Men's Basketball Signees
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown / Current School Alex Kargbo G 6-2 180 Jr. San Jose, Calif. / De Anza College Travis Niesen F 6-7 220 Fr. Mission Viejo, Calif. / Mission Viejo J.R. Patrick F 6-4 205 Jr. Edmonton, Alberta / North Dakota State College of Sciences Brandon Rohe G 6-4 195 Fr. San Juan Capistrano, Calif. / Santa Margarita James Romey G 6-3 170 Fr. Winnetka, Ill. / New Trier Township