By LARRY VAUGHT
larry@amnews.com

NEW ORLEANS — The wait was worth it for Patrick Patterson.

The University of Kentucky junior missed the NCAA Tournament in 2008 when he had an ankle injury and last year the Wildcats didn’t qualify for NCAA play.

One reason Patterson returned to Kentucky for his junior season rather than go to the NBA was to play in the NCAA, and he made the most of his opportunity here Thursday in a 100-71 win over East Tennessee State.

Patterson had 22 points, five rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot in his NCAA debut, which started with him scoring 11 points in the first 6 minutes, 33 seconds.

“It was no surprise he did that. When we need him the most, Pat is always there,” said Kentucky freshman Daniel Orton.

That’s what Patterson wanted to do, too.

“This was just what I expected and hoped for,” Patterson said. “I have waited three years for this moment and I’m very happy with how it went. It was just awesome to start out the way I did. I was so excited. I was ready to go out and throw it up.

“This is the first time for me to do this. I had never been in this situation before. From the moment I stepped on the court, it was nothing but fun.”

Patterson thought it was important for the Wildcats (33-2) to show why they are a No. 1 seed in the East Region and ranked second in the country.

“We do not want to be upset. If we play like this and rebound and defend a little better, I don’t think anybody can beat us,” Patterson said.

“We just have to keep the focus on how we play and not who we play. We want to win and we can control if we win or not. We can’t worry about losing. We just have to go out and play to win like we did tonight.

“People try to say we are young and untested in tournament play. They say we don’t have enough experience to win it all. That’s not a factor, or at least not in our minds. We know we can win.”

Patterson says there’s no big secret why the Cats played so well or have had such a successful year in coach John Calipari’s first season.

“We just have a will to win. I really can’t explain. We just have a bunch of guys that really want to win and refuse to lose,” he said.

“I’m just so thankful that I played well and we won like we did tonight. I had been anticipating what this moment would be like and it was everything I expected. The whole day was crazy. They (ETSU) never backed down, but this was just our night. I think we had all been waiting for this and we really enjoyed every minute of it.”

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