Ricardo Patton comes to UMES with 15 years of head coaching experience, including 11 at the University of Colorado and his last four at Northern Illinois University. Patton, beginning his first season with the Hawks, reunites with Frankie Allen after he served as his assistant at Tennessee State from 1991 to 1993.
[quote]Aside from being a personal friend of mine for well over 20 years, Ricardo is a very dynamic individual,[quote] says Frankie Allen, [quote]He is an outstanding recruiter and coach, and having a guy with his background and experience, he will help a lot in the development of our players and give our program a shot in the arm.[quote]
In his final two years at Northern Illinois, Patton coached Xavier Silas, a guard who played under him at Colorado his final season. Silas was awarded all-conference honors in his two years with the Huskies, finishing seventh in Division I in scoring with 22.3 points per game his senior season.
Patton was one of the top coaches in Colorado[apos]s history, taking the helm from 1996 to 2007 after being an assistant and later interim head coach the previous three seasons. He led the Buffaloes to at least 13 wins in all but one season and at least 18 in six seasons, all leading to postseason berths. Colorado reached the NCAA Tournament in the 1996-97 and 2002-03 seasons and the NIT in the 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2003-04 and 2005-06 seasons. Former All-American and current New York Knick Chauncey Billups was recruited and coached by Patton at Colorado.
While at Tennessee State, Allen and Patton led the Tigers to the first of three straight Ohio Valley Conference championships in 1993. They were led by future NBA player Carlos Rogers, a two-time OVC Player of the Year.
Previous to Tennessee State, he was an assistant coach at Arkansas-Little Rock for one season and Middle Tennessee State from 1988 to 1990.
Growing up in Nashville, Tennessee, Patton lettered in basketball at Hume Fogg High School. He attended John C. Calhoun Community College before returning to his home state to play at Belmont Unversity, where he earned All-America status as a senior. He later earned his master[apos]s degree at Trevecca Nazarene College in 1989.
Born October 23, 1958, Ricardo and his wife Jennifer reside in Princess Anne. They have two sons, Ricardo Jr. and Michael.
