High school basketball
Even at 5-5, point guard Chasity Patterson stands tall in North Shore’s plans for a big season.
Being impactful enough on the court to earn the nickname Baby Kyrie says it all about Chasity Patterson.
Small in stature but larger than life on the court, the 5-5 North Shore point guard entered her senior season Friday looking to make one more lasting impression on the Houston girls basketball scene.
“Size don’t matter,” said Patterson, who committed to Texas. “People are starting to figure that out. I hope people look up to me as an example of that.”
Topples scoring marks
Patterson has scoring records at North Shore that will keep her atop the perch for years to come — not just on the east side but across the city and state. She surpassed 2,200 career points as a junior last year, which is interesting because North Shore coach Allison Campbell considers her a pass-first point guard.
“If she does what she did last year, she’ll be at 3,000 points,” Campbell said. “Who does that?”
The four-year starter’s scoring average has increased every year, from 17 points per game to 21 to 24. Campbell believes 27 or 28 is possible for 2016-2017.
Patterson helped a North Shore team that had been oh-so-close so many times to its first state tournament last year.
Her highlight film is full of assists and head-turning buckets, somewhat like Cleveland Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving. Campbell believes Patterson’s moves and countermoves might rival some of the boys in the gym across the way.
She is the country’s top 2017 point guard according to espnW. And she’s doing it all while being closer to the ground than most.
It’s not extraordinary in the girls game. The top six point guards in ESPN’s rankings top out at 5-7. Patterson brings a different flair.
Being small works to her advantage. Patterson, who said she sees a lot of 1-2-2 or 1-3-1 zone defenses against her in addition to double teams, has deception in her favor.
Father knows best
“It’s speed,” Patterson said. “I’m closer to the ground so I can pick my spots and get there.”
Patterson learned early she had to attack the game differently.
“I go through training and we watch film,” Patterson said. “My dad told me ‘You’re a small guard so you know you’re going to have to do more. You’re going to have to create your own shots because it’s going to be hard against taller
defenders.’ ”
Houston hasn’t been short on short point guards on the girls basketball scene. It wasn’t long ago when Clear Springs’ Brooke McCarty was lighting it up.
If there is anyone Patterson takes cues from, it’s 5-4 McCarty, who is in her junior season at Texas. The two played together for the Cy-Fair Shock in select ball and will get one season together as Longhorns.
Coach Pam Crawford’s Clear Springs team fell to North Shore in the regional final last year. Crawford said there has always been a place for the small point
guard in girls basketball. The norm could range from 5-5 to 5-8.
Crawford said Patterson and McCarty are in their own class because of their IQ and ability to create their own shot.
Abundant talent
There aren’t a lot of ways to slow Patterson, which maybe reminds Crawford of what opponents had to go through with McCarty.
“Other than hoping she has a bad night, you’re going to need a powerful miracle,” Crawford said.
Skill outweighs everything, and Patterson has loads of it. Is it enough to
will a much younger North Shore team to state again this year?
The Mustangs hope so. Patterson said the interesting twist to this year is suddenly being the elder statesman.
“That motivates me,” Patterson said. “It’s even more because my leadership role is bigger this year. If I get them that far, that would be a big accomplishment for me.”