A Look At David Patten
For a while, it looked like David Patten would wind up at the University of Utah, but then he found everything he could want in a college right up the coast in Malibu.
Patten, a 6-8 combination/small forward from El Dorado H.S. in Placentia, Calif., recently signed a national letter of intend to attend Pepperdine in the fall.
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"In terms of coaching, you are not going to get anything better than Paul Westphal," Patten said. "The location is good and everything came together."
"With Utah, I liked Majerus, but at Pepperdine, I like every single coach that they have," Patten continued. "All of the things that I was looking for fit."
Patten added that the atmosphere at Pepperdine games was a big factor in his decision, as was his acumen in shooting at the arena's baskets.
"I really like the rims of the home court," Patten said. "I was hitting from like half court."
Patten visited Colorado in the fall, but his recruiting slowed quite a bit until the spring, when people began to call his home to see if he was still available.
But after taking an unofficial visit to Pepperdine three weeks ago, Patten gave Westphal and his staff an oral commitment.
The only thing that remains to be seen is what kind of role Patten will have on next year's Waves' program.
"A lot depends whether or not Jimmy Miggins comes back next year," Patten said. "I might red-shirt or I might not, it just depends."
Back in the fall, Patten talked about walking on at Utah and possibly embarking on a Mormon Mission. Now he said he plans on spending the next four or five years at Pepperdine, depending on whether he red-shirts or not.
In Patten, the Waves have landed a versatile forward who has the ability to swing between both the small and power slots.
Patten impressed us with his potential last summer while playing for the L.A. Rockfish program. Others who had been involved in his recruitment last fall included Tulane, UC-Santa Barbara and St. Mary's (CA).