BOZEMAN — This season, Montana State men's basketball fans have had to learn a handful of new faces within the program — but a constant has been junior guard Tyler Patterson.
The sole returning starter from the previous season hails from Snoqualmie, Wash., and is already building a legacy for the blue and gold.
"I came here, you know, with no intentions to leave," Patterson explained of his decision to return this past offseason that saw his previous coaching staff depart. "Yeah, it all worked out, and it lined up great for me, so stayed in position to stay here."
Patterson's mother attended Montana State, and he's found a second home in Bozeman.
"You know, in today’s day and age student-athletes have a litany of options, and certainly it meant a lot to all of us that he wanted to write this next chapter here with our staff," Bobcats first-year head coach Matt Logie said.
Patterson shared a connection with Logie that went beyond them both being from the Seattle area.
The basketball world is small — Patterson’s father, Gary, played in high school against Logie’s grandfather who coached Mercer Island. Years later, Gary was Logie's JV coach when he was 14 years old.
"It had been a long, long time since our paths had crossed," Logie said of when he and the Patterson family reunited when he was named the head coach at Montana State this past offseason.
"I had followed Tyler and Tyler’s career to date at Montana State. When they were down in San Diego at the NCAA Tournament, I was at that first-round game as a fan."
Patterson’s father is his main influence and mentor when it comes to the game, and he gave him one of the most critical pieces of advice that’s stuck with him to this day.
"One of my dad’s biggest keys was, the biggest key to be able to play basketball is to be able to shoot," Patterson said. "You know, you got to be able to shoot and put the ball in the hoop. So, it just came from there and then countless reps and situational stuff. It’s just grown from there."
Patterson has no trouble finding his shot and ranks sixth all-time in program history for made 3-pointers with 191.
This season he’s stepped into a new role, one where his game and his leadership has taken new heights, while using the experience of back-to-back Big Sky Conference championships and NCAA appearances in that growth this season.
"In this particular season of life, we need him to be a different version of himself and someone who can do a little more than maybe he’s done in the past with rebounding the basketball and finding different ways to score besides catching and shooting," Logie said. "And just being that voice in the locker room that can steady the ship in what has been an up-and-down roller-coaster season."
"I had been through it and had seen what it takes, you know, to win here. It’s a long road. It’s a lot of offseason work put in," Patterson said. "It’s a culmination of a lot of time in the gym together. I think the biggest thing is toughness and grit and grinding out the season."
That will be critical in the Bobcats' final regular-season push until the Big Sky Conference tournament in Boise, Idaho, which commences March 9.
