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Jamaica’s basketballer Patterson praises Europe
September 29, 2023
Jamaica's international basketballer Marcus Patterson relishes playing professionally in Europe, despite not getting an opportunity to participate in his dream tournament, the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Patterson, born in the Bronx, New York, the United States of America (USA), to Jamaican parents, fell in love with basketball while watching his older brothers on the courts while growing up. He was undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft but is happy to be creating a name for himself on the European market.
"I always dreamt of going to the NBA, but that didn't work out, and that's fine. I've had a good career playing in Europe, and I'm perfectly fine being in the European market," Patterson, who attended Mount Saint Michael Academy High and Russell Sage College, stated.
The 28-year-old Patterson, who has played in England, Portugal and Albania, is in the preparation phase, along with the Jamaican team, for their 3x3 International Cup in Sacramento on Sunday.
He contends that playing in Europe is challenging because of the leagues' physicality.
"The European leagues are extremely tough, as people think it's harder to play in Europe than in the NBA. That's because of the physicality, as it's a pure and traditional way of playing basketball.
"It's very team-oriented and it's very challenging, and as an imported player, Jamaican-American, you might not get certain calls that you might get in the States. So that makes it more physical and harder to play," he said.
Patterson is expected to make his debut at the upcoming International Cup. He is a shooting guard.
At the collegiate level, he was named the school's Men's Athlete of the Year in the 2016-17 season and ended his playing days tallying 1,021 points, the third most among the school's men's players.
He revealed that Demar Derozan and Carmelo Anthony are the players he has patterned his game off.
"I've watched guys like Demar Derozan and Carmelo Anthony because at my size, especially in Europe, I may be bigger, and at times smaller, than a guard, so I take advantage of mismatch opportunities; hence why I like watching guys who play on the wing," he revealed.
The player Patterson would relish the opportunity to go one-on-one against is Lebron James.
"I just think he's the greatest player of all time, as you're looking at a basketball player who impacts the game both on and off the court and makes players around him better," Patterson said.
