Jimmy Patsos is far from the conventional college basketball coach.
The combination of standing 6'3" and having a booming voice makes Patsos intimidating to his players, opponents, referees, and fans.
Patsos is college basketball's Rasheed Wallace. If he is on the floor, he is the favorite to pick up a technical foul.
During the course of most Loyola games, Patsos will sweat through his suit as the frown on his face becomes more parabolic.
Earlier in the season, the fifth-year head coach of Loyola Md. chose to sit in the stands instead of being ejected in an 82-72 loss against Cornell. The fan who sat next to Patsos must have been shocked because fans do not attend games to sit next to the head coach of one of the teams.
Fans were even more shocked when they saw Patsos' Greyhounds hold Stephen Curry to zero points last night. No, they did not hurt him—Bruce Bowen is on the Spurs. Curry only sat for eight minutes because of foul trouble, yet he could not get more than three shots—all three shots were misses.
- B/R Ticket Guide
Loyola became the first team to finish a game with the nation's leading scorer's stat line reading the same point total it read at tipoff. As big of a shock as the box score was to the college basketball world, more people were startled at the audacity that Patsos showed as he set up a triangle-and-two defense—the two man defenders were both assigned to Curry.
After a few minutes, Curry realized that the two Greyhounds were not going to let him escape for a shot, so he let his teammates take over as he watched from the corner. Davidson is deep enough that they can beat teams when they are given a four-on-three advantage, so that is what they did.
Despite trailing 39-17 at halftime, Patsos was obdurate and continued to double-team Curry.
It was clear that Patsos didn't care about winning the game, and that bothered the college basketball world. Analysts said that Patsos should have exhorted his players to back off of Curry, so the final score would be respectable.
Patsos, who was a history major at Catholic University, said after the game, "We had to play against an NBA player tonight. Anybody else ever hold him scoreless? I'm a history major. Are they going to remember we held him scoreless or lost by 30?"
Patsos must have been a successful student at Catholic, considering that he brushed up on his history of Stephen Curry enough to know that he had never been held scoreless at the college level.
That line in the quotation from Patsos tells us all about what his intentions were going into the game: Keep Curry's point total at zero.
Even though Patsos succeeded, Curry still leads the nation with 29.2 points per game.
A real class act, Jimmy...
NOT.
Photo and quotation courtesy of www.sportsline.com
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about 1 month ago
I couldn't agree with you more. When I read what Loyola did to hold him scoreless I was disgusted. This wasn't about winning the game, it was about beating Stephen Curry.
about 1 month ago
Boy, I'm glad I didn't write what I was going to -- not only did you have the exact same topic with a near-identical headline, but you wrote it better than I could.
Great article.
McKillop (Davidson's coach) actually left Curry in until the last minute of the game because he was so pissed off at Patsos' lame tactics. I didn't see the game, but I saw his quote ... he shouldn't even have shaken hands w/ Patsos (if he did).
I could see trying it for a half. If it's not working, change tactics. Patsos is an arrogant jerk ... and had a bunch of classless comments after the game.
5 stars. For you, not Patsos. ;)
from about 1 month ago
Yeah I agree. I have absolutely no issue with Patsos trying it, but it was obvious it wasn't going to work pretty early into the game. If Loyola had some really athletic guys that could cover some space it seems feasible or if the extra defender could leave Curry in certain situations, but it seems like the two defenders literally just stood around Curry in the corner.
from about 1 month ago
First time I've ever heard of the power-play in college basketball!
After reading the stories, it seems, like you said, they LITERALLY stood in the corner w/ Curry and weren't allowed to move, by orders of the coach!
Curry figured it out on the third possession (what to do to create a 4-on-3).
Patsos will apparently never figure it out.
:-)
from about 1 month ago
Thanks, Nathan.
The first time I saw Patsos coach against Manhattan, he gave me a bad first impression. He looked like a jerk and acted like one too. Not surprised that he's the one to do this.
about 1 month ago
patsos is crazy.
from about 1 month ago
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that he has had drinking problems in the past--makes me wonder if he was a bit drunk?
But seriously, I don't know what he was thinking. This gives him and Loyola a terrible reputation.
from about 1 month ago
Very nice article. I have to agree with you here. I mentioned the game in my college hoops article. Check it out.
Check it out
from about 1 month ago
Very nice article. I have to agree with you here. I mentioned the game in my college hoops article.
Check it out
about 1 month ago
Very nice article. I have to agree with you here. I mentioned the game in my college hoops article.
Check it out
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/86326-why-college-basketball-is-better-than-the-nba-nov-26
about 1 month ago
I agree with everyone that it was a dumb move. However do you think this will help Loyola with the exposure on ESPN and such, or will it just make people agree with us in saying the coach is an arrogant prick who totally disrespected his own players by throwing a game for some joke?
from about 1 month ago
It's going to get the wrong kind of exposure, the kind of exposure that no athletic director wants for his program.
I also read an interesting post on a Loyola forum. A fan said they don't have to worry about Patsos bouncing for a bigger job because of these two incidents in the last week +. I have to imagine that is true, unless there is an AD as nuts as Patsos.
about 1 month ago
When I read the game story last night, my initial thought was, "The Loyola coach is a moron."
Yep, I still think that.
Sacrificing a game so you can say you held someone scoreless? That is the move of a supreme douchebag.
If he wanted name recognition, he got it. Just for all the wrong reasons.
from about 1 month ago
Couldn't agree more.
about 1 month ago
Do you know anything about where he came from because on PTI today wilbon and kornheiser were talking about how great this guy was. They didnt agree with what he did but they both made it sound like they were his good buds. Does he have ties somewhere else that were bigger than Loyola wherever?
from about 1 month ago
I know he was an assistant for Gary Williams at Maryland. I'm pretty sure he was with them when they won years back. So, yeah, he's experienced, he's turned the Loyola program from a 1-win program to an over .500 program, but he is still a nut.
If you ever see him live, you can tell he is a jerk from the minute he walks onto the court.
from about 1 month ago
Yep, he's from Maryland and what is kind of funny is that he has the same "sweating problem" that Gary Williams has. As in, neither can make it through a game without losing a shirt, a jacket (if worn) and approximately 10 pounds of water weight.
Only difference is that Gary Williams is a great coach and a class act.
He went straight from the Terps to his head coach job at Loyola, but he always talks about (including last night) how he "coached a national championship team" and coached future NBA players, etc, etc ... see his quotes from last night; I'm barely even paraphrasing.
Except that of course he was ASSISTANT coaching those teams ... I don't think I've ever seen such agreement on an issue from fans and experts alike ... and I love David's comment: supreme douchebag. Or giant turd -- take your pick. ;-)
from about 1 month ago
haha thanks guys for the info!
about 1 month ago
Obviously Patsos was bad in school because the old saying goes, "History is told by the victors." Last time I checked Davidson was the victor and the story will always be told of how big an asshole he was.
about 1 month ago
Here's a letter from Patsos to PTI:
Dear Mr. Kornheiser and Mr. Wilbon:
I would like to start by saying that after 20 years of coaching in the Baltimore-Washington I have come to realize that you represent the highest intelligence and integrity in both written and broadcast journalism. Our team watches your show daily in the locker room as practice ends at 5:30.
The decision to deny Stephen Curry the ball for the entire game was a calculated risk and conscious choice by myself, our staff and our players. My staff is made up of Matt Kovarik(just passed the Maryland Bar), GG Smith(masters from Kentucky, Tubby’s son) and Greg Manning jr(Loyola player and 2008 graduate, son of Greg Manning Sr all-time free throw pct leader in ACC History). We had a tough win the night before vs James Madison and our best defender Tony Lewis is hurt and is out for a week. He tried to play vs Davidson but was unable after two minutes, and we want him healthy for the year. We are a very young team who lost 3 starters and 5 of the top 9 from last years record setting 19 win team. We have had 3 winning seasons in a row, which is very good since 5 years ago when I got here we were 1-27 and last in the country in the RPI!
The game plan to beat Davidson a top 25 team with a lottery pick in Stephen Curry, and 6 of 8 players back from an Elite Eight team was to keep Curry from touching the ball. If this was last year we would not have done this because Curry played shooting guard. The decision was based on the fact that he plays point guard now. He is tremendous not only averaging 35 pts, but also 9 assists per game. This means he accounts for 53 points per game for Davidson. My young, tired and inexperienced team met with the staff and we all felt this was our best chance to win the game. We spoke about the Four Corners Dean Smith had used as we where playing in the State of North Carolina. It was a risk, but we felt it was our only chance to win the game. The players were all for it, they have a say here at Loyola Basketball. The game started well, and Davidson was forced to use two timeouts to deal with the situation. The lead of 9-4 was an impressive start for our young team. We used a combination of triangle and two, box and one and a full court press to stop Curry.
Unfortunately we could not make open shots, and committed twenty-one turnovers(mostly unforced). At halftime I asked the team if they wanted to play straight man to man, or stay with the game plan. They wanted to stick to the game plan in hopes we could run better offense, make shots and maybe the Davidson players would cool off from the 3 PT line. In the second half a seldom used Davidson freshman made 3 straight pointers, it was not the Greyhounds night. Loyola Basketball tries to WIN every game we play! We played hard until the end, diving for loose balls and running our offense, we just struggled offensively. In closing I take responsibility for the loss, however this was not some self-serving promotional plan. Curry is a great player who controls the game much like Tiny Archibald(I grew up in Boston and watched him lead the Celtics to the 1981 NBA Title). He is more dangerous now because he plays the point and can score and pass.
The credit should go to Head Coach Bob McKillop, the entire Davidson team and Stephon Curry who is unselfish, humble and patient. They are a great team, and Curry is a class individual much like his coach. There was no trash-talking or dirty physical play. We took a risk for the rest of the team to beat us, and they did. Coach McKillop adjusted to a situation that they have never seen and did an outstanding job as did his star player. After watching this I only have more respect for Stephen Curry. He should be a serious candidate for player of the year.
As an American I wish we had leaders like McKillop and Curry who could have gotten the CIA and FBI to talk so we could have prevented the 9-11 tragedy, or saw that Fannie Mae was creating a mortgage crisis coming which could cripple a country. The Davidson basketball family united the way I wish Wall Street would have instead of letting so many Americans retirement be lost. I wish his staff could have advised the administration who got us into a war in Iraq which has cost us countless lives, and disabilities, countless money and has gone on longer than WWII. I know these are extreme examples to show that the Davidson basketball family adjusted, made smart choices and unselfish choices for the good of the team.
I will take responsibility for the loss, and give all the credit to the entire Davidson Basketball Family. As a mid major that is where we want to be some day. They are a winning program who does it with class. We took a risk, and it did not work. We will learn from our failures, as much as from our successes. Winning is a priority at this program as it was at the University of Maryland when I worked for Gary Williams, and at Archbishop Carroll when I worked for Carroll Holmes.
It was an honor to have our school on your show which we believe is the finest in the nation. You may print or talk about any or all of this letter. I am available 24-7 to talk to either one of you about this. You are a credit to your industry. I just wanted you to know why we did what we did, and that our objective was to win the game against a top 25 team with a lottery pick. Please pray for the victims of Mumbai, I have several friends and relatives working there. We are off to Vermont to play my college roommate Mike Lonergan and the Vermont Catamounts.
Sincerely,
Jimmy Patsos
Head Basketball Coach
Loyola University
from about 1 month ago
You should make this an article in itself. This makes me sick. Drama queen, and how dumb to compare a game to that kind of stuff in out nation. During 9/11 and the war in Iraq the enemy came out swinging and the US has had a pretty tough job in containing that to this day. In this dumb game Davidson (which would be the US) called a timeout and then killed them immediately. Not much of a correlation.
about 1 month ago
I've been a college bb fan for about fifty years. Not only was Patsos's coaching against Davidson the ugliest thing I have seen in those years, your article is one of the finest things I have seen in those years. The second ugliest thing I have seen is the above letter by Patsos. Give us a break, Jimmy! Damn, 911? The law degrees of your coaching staff? Oh, it was the team members' decision. That let's you off the hook, right? LOL
29 days ago
Patsos is a joke and has long been low on my list, from the moment he started berating his players with his team way ahead when they played Canisius, and after hearing about how he went after our previous coach toward the end of one game.
BTW, the war and 9/11 references were out of bounds and just plain unnecessary. However, as long as he keeps winning Loyola will keep paying him.
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