Patterson on the comeback trail

HUNTINGTON -- As the University of Kentucky opened its summer men's basketball workout sessions Wednesday, Patrick Patterson was back on the court.

Unfortunately for Patterson and the Big Blue Nation, it was still with a post-surgery boot on his left ankle.

Patterson, who is two weeks away from having the boot removed, is trying to keep a good mindset as he prepares for rehabilitation, but he admits that it is taxing.

"It's extremely aggravating," Patterson said. "We started workouts (Wednesday) and all I could do was watch. I was asked to help with a drill so I just showed my teammates how to do it, but it's aggravating."

After having surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left ankle the UK forward from Huntington spent six weeks in a cast before being fitted for a boot at the beginning of May.

Fast forward one month and Patterson is ready to give his boot the boot.

"I'm still waiting for the boot on my foot to come off. I have two weeks left in it," Patterson said. "Then I start rehab, putting pressure on it and doing some ankle movement."

Don't think that time in the boot has been time off for Patterson, though.

In fact, the ankle injury might turn out to be the worst thing to happen to opponents in the Southeastern Conference.

"Since I've been in the boot, I've just been doing upper body workouts -- from my core to my biceps and triceps," Patterson said. "I can also still do hamstrings and upper legs, just no ankle joint movements."

As with most injuries, the toughest part to deal with is the mental side of the pain. For Patterson, a workhorse in and out of season, the injury has meant not being able to play basketball for six months.

The timetable doctors set for him to return to the court is September or October at the earliest, meaning he is trying to find ways to keep his mind off the injury.

"Spend time with friends, hanging out with family as much as possible," Patterson said. "I can even swim as long as I don't put pressure on it. I watch game tapes and film to concentrate on what I can do better."

Once the semester at UK ended, Patterson came back to Huntington for five weeks to visit friends and family before recently returning to Lexington. Patterson said during the summer he will probably come back home every other weekend if possible.

"I just don't want to sit around and lay around. That's when I start thinking about my injury," Patterson said. "Mentally, I'm just trying to stay focused on my goals. That way I can get back out there with my teammates."

As a highly-recruited player out of Huntington High, teams salivated at Patterson's physical presence despite him not having been on a collegiate weight program.

Now, he is showing that his toughness is not just in his muscles.