Patterson finally finds home

The wait is finally over. Patrick Patterson knows where he is going for college. And the college basketball world finally found out on Wednesday afternoon.

The five-star forward from Huntington (W.V.) High School announced he would be playing for Kentucky next season at a packed press conference.

"In the fall of 2007, I will be attending the university of Kentucky," Patterson said.

"The fans and the fan support and coach Gillispie coming in and at his previous program, he brought them up at Texas A&M. They were first in their conference this year. Coming to Kentucky, he's going to care about being successful. He talked about being an impact player when I get there my freshman year."

Patterson said his close family played a big part in his decision. Playing close to them was the deciding factor.

"That was the x-factor in the process. I thought about that a lot," Patterson said. "I didn't want to move my family out. My family can come and see me play. It's only two hours away."

Patterson took his recruitment to the final hour. Waiting proved to be beneficial for the 6-foot-8 interior player. He had long considered Kentucky but when Tubby Smith left for Minnesota, the Wildcats had to begin again with the new coaching staff. Billy Gillispie made Patterson a priority the day he took over the job in Lexington.

Amidst all of the discussions in April about Billy Donovan's possible move to Kentucky or the NBA, Patterson said he watched the situation closely. Donovan ultimately stayed in Gainesville and worked hard on Patterson and close friend Jai Lucas, who committed to the Gators on Monday.

When Bob Huggins took over at West Virginia, Patterson listened to his recruiting pitch. Duke remained strong throughout and, along with Virginia, seemed to be the only two schools with no coaching changes to look over.

Patterson joins Alex Legion, another late get for Gillispie and staff, as well as Smith holdovers A.J. Stewart and Mike Williams.

Patterson said he heard from Lucas as well as the current Kentucky signees about his decision on Wednesday.

"All today, (Lucas) was calling me and convience me to go with him," Patterson said. "Then Alex Legion and A.J. Stewart were calling me to come to Kentucky. I was getting stuff from them back and forth, all day, every day."