An unstoppable force. Sonora’s Patterson is Bee’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Liberty Ranch boys basketball coach Brian Chavez said players like Sonora senior guard Austin Patterson don’t come around often.
“The biggest thing we talked about is he’s gonna pull up from three feet behind the line and make those shots,” Chavez said after Patterson scored 30 points in the Wildcats’ 70-57 win over the Hawks in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV Championship on Feb. 27.
Added Chavez: “Once he gets past that first level of help, he elevates so well and gets the shot up so high. You put an athletic guy in front of him and he elevates over him. You bring a big guy and he has a little hesitation move, nice finish and uses his body well. He’s just a smart player at being able to get his shot off. For a high school player to get his shot off like that, he’s light years ahead.”
It wasn’t the first time Patterson had a big performance against Liberty Ranch as he had 28 points and made a key 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to help Sonora win the Div. IV title in 2019. It was the school’s first title since 1992.
Patterson, who led the Wildcats in six categories this year, is the Bee’s Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He averaged 23.4 points per game, 6.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 2.7 steals, and shot 55% from the field.
“Sonora means a lot because I feel a ton of community support and so many people encourage me to be the best that I can be everyday,” Patterson said. “My favorite high school moment would be winning back-to-back section titles with my basketball family because it’s very hard to do that and with us coming from a super small town, it’s even more special.”
Besides leading the team in multiple categories, Patterson also was named the MVP of the Mother Lode League and broke the Sonora single-game scoring record with 48 points against Central Catholic on Dec. 13.
“He did what he has done his whole career ... just win,” Sonora coach Lloyd Longeway said.
With nicknames such as “Austy”, “Cheeto”, or the “Red Mamba”, Patterson may be the star on the court, but off the court, he is just a “goof” and a “funny” senior who works hard in the classroom, Sonora senior Darius O’Neal said.
“I had an opportunity to be a leader to those around me and be an inspiration and pass on my love for the game to the younger kids,” Patterson said.
Patterson said he works on shooting from various spots and ball handling drills every day.
“I have two trainers, a basketball trainer (Kevin McArthur) and a strength and conditioning trainer (Chris Forster),” Patterson said. “I love working with them because I know that I’m getting 1% better everyday to get where I need to be to be successful.”
Patterson said he has offers from Montana State, UC Davis, and UC Santa Barbara but might do a post graduate year at a prep academy and enter college in 2021. He said he will make his decision in May
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2019-20 Modesto Bee Boys Basketball All-District Team
| Name | School | Year | Note |
| Dayton Magana | Central Catholic | Senior | The Valley Oak League MVP averaged 18.5 points and ended his career with 1455 points. |
| Michael Pearson | Modesto Christian | Senior | The Tri-City Athletic League MVP ended his career with over 1,500 points, fourth most in school history. Pearson is two-time All-District honoree. |
| Braden Van Groningen | Ripon Christian | Junior | The Trans-Valley League Co-MVP averaged 15.6 points per game and 11.1 rebounds for the section and NorCal champion Knights. |
| Luke McClellan | Gregori | Senior | The Central California Athletic League MVP led the Jaguars with 16.8 points per game and 2.5 steals. |
| Alex Merkviladze | Modesto Christian | Senior | The Cal State Northridge signee was a first-team Tri-City Athletic League honoree. |
Honorable mentions: Beyer junior Jonny Lee, Central Catholic senior Nic Sani, Denair senior Jordan Smith-Sires, Enochs senior Miles Drew, Escalon junior Brenden Holmes, Gregori senior Julian Brown, Hilmar senior Will Tate, Pitman junior Josiah Frank, Ripon junior Malik Taylor, Ripon Christian senior Jacob Van Groningen, Turlock junior Cameron Walker
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
