Lamar Patterson, a 6-foot-4 junior forward committed to Pitt, will transfer to St. Benedict’s Prep from McCaskey HIgh in Lancaster, Pa., Lancasteronline.com reported.
Patterson averaged 18.7 points last season at McCaskey and helped the team win its fourth straight league championship.
“I wanted to go to a school that would get me better prepared for Pitt,” Patterson told the newspaper “St. Benedict’s is a great school, and it has one of the best basketball programs in the nation. It felt like the right place for me.”
Patterson, who gave a verbal commitment to Pitt last fall, is ranked 15th in the nation among players in his age group by Rivals.com. He also reportedly held offers from Rutgers, Temple, Virginia Tech, Miami, Michigan, Penn State and Minnesota.
Under head coach Dan Hurley, St. Ben’s finished 24-1 last season and was ranked No. 2 nationally behind St. Anthony of Jersey City, coached by Dan’s legendary father, Bob.
The Gray Bees will graduate three Division I players in Louisville-bound F Samardo Samuels, Rutgers-bound C/F Greg Echenique and Iona-bound PG Scott Machado. Returning to the team are UAB-bound combo guard Tamir Jackson of Paterson and Texas commit Tristan Thompson.
In other St. Benedict’s news, the annual Brian Doherty Classic will take place on Jan. 24 at the Prudential Center in Newark, home of Seton Hall basketball and the Devils. Last year’s event featured St. Benedict’s, St. Anthony, American Christian, Passaic Tech, Christian Brothers and the St. Ben’s prep team. This year’s schedule has yet to be finalized.
