Cameron visit won't sway Patterson

Patrick Patterson noticed the effort of Duke fans to impress him this week, but said they won’t sway him.
Patterson is a 6-foot-8 forward who might be the top uncommitted senior in the nation. He scored 20 points in a 73-66 win Tuesday night for Huntington (W.Va.) High against Artesia High of California as part of the HoopHall Classic tripleheader at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
He arrived in town early to watch Duke’s home game against Boston College on Sunday. He saw fans carrying signs beckoning him and heard them chant, “Patrick Patterson, come to Duke.”
“I enjoyed having the fans come out ... and chant for me and root for me and make signs for me, but it’s no edge (for Duke) whatsoever,” Patterson said.
Patterson is considering Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia, Florida, Kentucky and West Virginia, and hopes to narrow his list to three schools soon. He also has played in a showcase event in Lexington, Ky., but it wasn’t at Rupp Arena on Kentucky’s campus.
“I’ve never actually been to a Duke game, so coming here, listening to the noise and watching Coach K coach and seeing how the team plays, I have a better perspective than I had before,” he said.
What that perspective is, he didn’t say. Patterson would make a good poker player. But he’s adamant that his visit this week didn’t give Duke any advantage.

Notes: Duke signee Nolan Smith is student body president at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va. Asked what his platform was, Smith said he likes to help his fellow students. “They come to me for advice,” said Smith, a 6-foot-3 guard who helped Oak Hill defeat fellow Duke signee Taylor King and Mater Dei (Calif.) High on Tuesday. King scored 32 points . ... Forward James Harden of Artesia scored 17 points with 10 rebounds near his future coach’s former home. Harden is a big guy with a good touch from the perimeter that will come in handy in former N.C. State coach Herb Sendek’s offense at Arizona State.

- Ken Tysiac