Kentucky freshman Patrick Patterson will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left ankle.
Patterson, the only freshman ranked among the SEC?s top 10 scorers (16.4 points per game) and rebounders (7.7 rebounds per game), had an x-ray taken Friday morning at the UK Hospital that confirmed the injury.
Patterson is wearing a cast on his left foot and will be out approximately eight weeks.
Kentucky Head Coach Billy Gillispie
Opening Statement ?
?(It was a) tough day for us; losing Patrick Patterson. It?s unfortunate mostly for him as a person. He meant so much to our team as a player and a person. I have not been around a freshman that?s been asked to do more and has done more for a team. From day one he?s been expected to be a great player and he?s done that and more as a freshman. It?s a very, very tough day for him personally and a very tough day for us as a team. We?ve already had a practice and our guys understand how tough it?s going to be and it?s going to be a lot tougher, but not impossible. Our team has played a special way of basketball in the conference season; we?ll just have to be a little bit more special without him. We?re going to miss him, but it?s not the end of the world; he?ll be back before too long, unfortunately not this season. Just a tough day, but we?ll make the most out of it.?
On what the team’s morale is ?
?We?ll see. It?s easy to say you?ll be fine. It?s a devastating blow to us and it?s something we?ll have to deal with. You have a lot of choices in life on how you deal with things. Ten percent of it is what happens to you, and 90 percent is how you handle it. This will be a good test for us. The good thing is, I?m really happy that for whatever reason, they chose to get an x-ray today. Because like you were asking a while ago, if he could play through the pain, if that were possible, he would do it because he?s tough, like all of our other guys are. But if he were to do that, then he would risk the possibility of making it worse. We?re lucky, even though he?s not going to be with us the rest of the year, we?re lucky, we have good players on our team. We?ve developed a winning mindset and we?ve developed a lot of toughness. Unfortunately, we?ve been through a lot of things of this nature, we haven?t lost Patrick other than one game, but we?ve been strong enough and mentally tough enough to not allow too many things to be distractions after we started the first of the year and this will be a major test in that regard. I?m excited about the morale of the team. I think they?re tough, I think they?re driven, I think they?re really committed. I think they really care about each other. As you would expect, they?re very sad Pat?s not going to be with us anymore, but sometimes one man?s misfortune is another man?s gain. Somebody?s got to step up; everybody?s got to do a little bit more. That?s the best way to replace a great player, is everyone has to do a bit more, but some one has to step up and do a lot more and we?ll find out how that plays out as the season finishes up.?
On how it changes the way the team plays …
?We have to get the ball inside and that?s been very important to us. We?ve gotten to the foul line more than our opponents for the most part. When we played our best, we did that. We need to figure out a way to get the ball close to the basket and continue to get to the foul line. The thing about Patrick is that he wasn?t a one-dimensional player. His rebounding is so important to us, his handling the ball against pressure is so important to us. As good a player as he is, as productive a player as he is, his knowledge of the game and his leadership ability, helping guys get to the right spots even as a freshman, has been just as important as his points and rebounds and those kinds of things. It will be a major test for us, but luckily it?s not going to be a deal that?s going to be much more than six to eight weeks and he?ll come back stronger than ever whenever he?s able to get back. And we have to continue to get better, and finish up the season.?
#54 Patrick Patterson, Freshman
On how he discovered the injury ?
?I woke Tuesday morning and had some pain in my left ankle. It was on the inside, right on the tip of my bone. I reported it right away to the trainer and told Coach in practice. We treated it like a regular ankle injury. It started feeling better progressively and so I played in the (Ole Miss) game, but it started to hurt more towards the end. So when I woke up this morning we decided to get it x-rayed. We then found out I had a stress fracture. I was shocked. They told me I had to wear a cast for six to eight weeks. I started crying when I found out I couldn?t play for the rest of the remaining season. I was disappointed when I had to tell my teammates and my coach.?
On how he feels about the rest of the team ?
?I was really upset because I couldn?t play anymore. I thought it was a let down to my teammates. I really wanted to be out there and be an additional thread to my team. I was just worried about my teammates. I wanted to be out there with them to finish out the year, especially SEC play, the SEC Tournament and the post season tournament. It just hurts that I found out I can?t play anymore. But I?ll be cheerleading, sitting on the sidelines cheering on my team. Since I can?t play, I?ll do anything I can to help.?
On the team’s performance despite his absence ?
?I know they can win these games without me. I know they can play because if they couldn?t, they wouldn?t be here. We have total confidence in ourselves and our teammates. We believe in each other. I know they can go out there and get the job done.? On his parents’ reaction ?
?My dad was fine and he was calm. He said that this is just a minor setback for me and my teammates are going to accept it. They?re going to perform and shine in the moment. They?re going to step up, they?re going to play and they?re going to win. As far as my mom, she was devastated; she was upset. She wanted to know if I was okay. She?s just like every mom, she worries. But I talked to her about it and told her everything. Now she?s fine. From here we just have to take it step by step.?
