Musselman hires UC Riverside head coach David Patrick to Arkansas
One month after Chris Crutchfield's departure from Arkansas, the Razorbacks have reportedly found his replacement–UC Riverside head coach David Patrick. Basketball insider Jon Rothstein first reporting that Patrick will take over as assistant head coach after two seasons in SoCal.
“I have known Coach Patrick both professionally and personally for many years,” Musselman said. “We have a great bond and he will fit seamlessly into our basketball family. He brings so much to our program. He has Division I head coaching experience, experience evaluating talent in the NBA from his time with the Houston Rockets, and an incredible reputation as a recruiter. His basketball knowledge is excellent, and he is someone I have great comfort discussing all the intricacies that go with building a winning program.”
Musselman and Patrick previously worked together at LSU.
“I am honored to be reuniting with Coach Musselman at the University of Arkansas,” Patrick said. “I am incredibly grateful for my time as head coach at UC Riverside and want to sincerely thank every single person that I had the pleasure of working with during my time there. I especially want to thank (Director of Intercollegiate Athletics) Tamica Smith Jones and the administration at UC Riverside for giving me the opportunity of serving as their head coach, as well as our student-athletes, for without you, I would not be in this position. The chance to help lead the historic Arkansas program, be close to home, and return to SEC basketball was one that my family and I could not turn down. We cannot wait to get down to Fayetteville and I cannot wait to get to work to continue pushing the Razorback program forward.”
An Australia native, Patrick was hired at Riverside in 2018 and took the program from a 10-23 season in 2018-19 to 17-15 in 2019-20.
Prior to Riverside, Patrick was an assistant coach at TCU in 2016 and helped the Horned Frogs to their second-largest turnaround in school history as they went 24-15, an improvement of 12 wins from the previous year. Win No. 24 gave TCU its first postseason championship, when it beat Georgia Tech, 88-56, at Madison Square Garden for in the NIT title. The victory also tied for the second-most wins in school history was the most since the 1997-98 season (27-6).
Patrick came to TCU from LSU where he was the lead recruiter for eventual first round NBA draft pick Ben Simmons.
During his four years in Baton Rouge, Patrick helped LSU rejuvenate its program and average 20 wins a season, which culminated into a 2015 NCAA Tournament appearance. The Tigers recorded a total of 80 wins in his tenure, while sending Johnny O'Bryant III, Martin and Mickey to the NBA. He also helped with the Tigers attract such players as Keith Hornsby, Josh Gray, Jalyn Patterson and Aaron Epps.
Patrick was hired at LSU in 2012 after a stint as a personnel scout with the Houston Rockets. He also served for four years on the staff at Saint Mary's and one year at Nicholls State. While at SMC, the Gaels went to the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 2010. Both squads won a school record 28 games, while the 2010 team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. During his tenure, Saint Mary's averaged 25 wins a season thanks in large part to Patrick's work of signing Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova. Mills currently stars for the San Antonio Spurs, while Dellavedova has played three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Patrick, who was born in Bermuda and grew up in Melbourne, Australia, played collegiately one season at Syracuse University where he was a member of the 1996 NCAA Final Four team that finished as the national runner-up. He then transferred to UL-Lafayette where he played for three seasons.
Following his collegiate career, Patrick went back to Australia where he played for the Canberra Cannons of the National Basketball League from 1999-01 and was named Rookie of the Year in 2000. He then joined the Chester Jets of England's British Basketball League where he earned second team all-league honors. He concluded his professional career in the Spanish Professional League, playing for Castellion from 2003 to 2005.
Patrick came to the United States in 1994 after a stint playing with the Australian Junior National Team. He played high school basketball at Chapel Trafton in Louisiana where he led Trafton to the state quarterfinals and was chosen as the Louisiana Player of the Year. He was elected the district's MVP, was a First Team All-Parish selection and was selected to participate in the Louisiana State High School All-Star Game. He was also a member of junior national teams in Australia and was named an All-Australian player from 1992-94.