Villanova freshman Trey Patterson picking up things ‘pretty quickly’ after early high school graduation

Trey Patterson is the newest Villanova freshman basketball player. He has only been a part of a few practices since arriving on campus Jan. 24 after graduating early from Rutgers Prep in Somerset, N.J.

But it hasn’t taken him long to grasp the meaning of coach Jay Wright’s favorite term: “Villanova Basketball.”

“It’s doing the little things like being tough,” Patterson said Friday in a Zoom interview with The Inquirer. “One of the words you hear a lot is ‘attitude.’ You can’t control what happens sometimes on the court, but you can control how you react. So that’s one of the big things about this team. The big emphasis is attitude.”

Patterson, a 6-foot-8 forward, is the first early enrollee in Wright’s 20 seasons on the Main Line, and the highest-ranked of Villanova’s four recruits in the 2021 freshman class, coming in at No. 33 in both the 247Sports and ESPN.com ratings.

To prepare for his first practice with the nation’s No. 3 team, Wright sent him a guide of sorts in which he read up on concepts and terminology, which he said he has picked up “pretty quickly.” Patterson has grown up in basketball; both his parents played Division I ball in college — his mother, Shamona, at Seton Hall; his father, Antoine, at St. Francis (Pa.).

“Ever since I was little, I kind of picked up on basketball concepts and things like that,” he said. “I used to play football, so different plays and different coverages, I would pick up on those things, too. So that helped me coming into my journey here at ‘Nova, with all the different concepts and plays that they have, and helping me pick up on everything rather quickly.”

Matt Bloom, Patterson’s coach at Rutgers Prep, said he wasn’t surprised to hear how rapidly Patterson was learning the new system.

“Certainly he has the work ethic and the drive, but he’s also very, very coachable,” Bloom said. “The little details, the culture, those are the reasons why he chose Villanova in the first place. He just wanted to jump right in and be a sponge and learn everything, and I guess it’s going to happen quickly for him, which is nice to hear.”

Wright said that Patterson has been “pretty impressive” from the start and helped the Wildcats prepare for Saturday’s game against Seton Hall as part of the scout team. Right now, the coach said he is proceeding with “low expectations” for Patterson, but that could change with time.

“If he can help us in practice, that would be a real positive and a great contribution on his part, and I think he’s starting to do that already,” he said. “But he’s picking up things pretty quickly, so I don’t want to put any limits on him either.”

Patterson, who watched his team’s win over Seton Hall from the bench, doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself. For now, he appreciates the help and support of his teammates and coaches as he continues to soak in all that he can.

“Whatever happens, happens,” he said. “I’m just looking to control what I can control, practicing hard, communicating, doing the little things at practice that are vital and important for this team to succeed. So I’m not really too much worried about playing time and things like that. I’m just looking to keep learning and keep working hard.”

Patterson said his parents and Wright and his staff began talking last fall about enrolling early in the event the pandemic would prevent Rutgers Prep from having a season. Patterson added some classes, including an extra English class, to fulfill the credits needed, and the decision was made in December to move on to college.

“We just felt it was the best decision for me and my development at this time being with a certain team with everything going on right now,” Patterson said. “Everything went pretty smoothly.”

Bloom said the plan was for Rutgers Prep to play a national schedule this season and that Patterson wanted to take part in it. But it was more of a limited schedule, and he said he made the right decision to leave.

“He’s already accomplished everything that he could have accomplished this year,” Bloom said. “He wanted to jump into yet another challenge, which I love about him.”

It’s been a quick trip from North Jersey to Villanova, but Patterson is adjusting well.

“I’m just enjoying my time here,” he said. “I’m enjoying learning everything, working out, getting better. I think I’m handling everything pretty well so far.”