Syracuse Basketball: 7-foot-2 William Patterson tons of long-term upside

William Patterson, a center from Brooklyn, N.Y., was the only high-school commit for Syracuse basketball in the team’s 2023 class, and he seemed to fly a bit under the radar, despite possessing a lot of long-term potential and upside.

The 7-foot-2, 220-pound Patterson committed to the Orange over other suitors such as TCU, Oklahoma State and Rutgers. He picked up a ‘Cuse scholarship offer in late August of 2022, around the time that he competed in the team’s annual Elite Camp.

In February of 2023, Patterson took an official visit to Syracuse basketball, and he verbally committed to the Orange only a few days after that.

As a senior, William Patterson attended The Patrick School in Hillside, N.J., and before that, Patterson played for the Bishop Walsh School in Cumberland, Md., which was a member of the loaded National Interscholastic Basketball Conference when he suited up for the Spartans.

Several recruiting services rated him as a three-star prospect in the 2023 class. The industry-generated On3 Industry Ranking placed Patterson at No. 319 nationwide, No. 46 at center and No. 12 in New Jersey, while Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 30 center in this cycle.

Freshman William Patterson is one of numerous centers on the Syracuse basketball roster.

In the upcoming 2023-24 season, which officially starts for the Orange on Monday, Nov. 6, when the ‘Cuse hosts New Hampshire, it’s likely that Patterson won’t see a lot of court time in his freshman term.

That’s not a knock on him at all. It’s merely because Syracuse basketball has multiple other centers on its current roster, and they include junior Naheem McLeod, a transfer from Florida State, junior Mounir Hima and sophomore Peter Carey.

Additionally, sophomore power forward Maliq Brown is expected to play some at center for the Orange in 2023-24, ‘Cuse coaches say.

In 2022-23, senior center Jesse Edwards was an All-ACC performer. However, he transferred this off-season to West Virginia as a graduate student. McLeod is the presumed starting center at the onset of 2023-24 for Syracuse basketball, and it will be interesting to see how minutes are divided up within this position group in the upcoming campaign.

In a recent interview with Steve Infanti and Paulie Scibilia on their ESPN Radio Syracuse program “Orange Nation,” ‘Cuse assistant coach Allen Griffin said that he’s optimistic the center position will prove a bright spot for Syracuse basketball in 2023-24.

Griffin noted that of all the centers, McLeod “probably has the most experience.” The Syracuse basketball assistant added that some of the keys for the team’s centers are to keep adding strength in the weight room, while working hard during preseason practices to continue improving and coming together as a cohesive unit.

Personally, I contend that William Patterson was an underrated prospect in the 2023 class, but all that matters now is what he does on the Hill. I’m excited to see Griffin, a fantastic coach, help develop Patterson into a strong center at the collegiate level over the next few years.