Former CU Buffs coach Patton lands high school job

Ricardo Patton will be a coach in Memphis after all.

A high school coach.

Fifteen years after turning down an offer from the University of Memphis to remain at Colorado, Patton has been announced as the new head coach at Central High School in Memphis.

"I'm excited," Central principal Greg McCullough told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "After what seems like many months we have picked someone with major college coaching experience. It's a major hire."

Patton, 53, coached CU for 11 seasons, posting a 184-160 record. The highlight of his run with the Buffaloes was a victory over Bob Knight and Indiana in the 1997 NCAA Tournament.

After resigning from CU, Patton was the head coach at Northern Illinois for four seasons before getting fired with a dismal 26-61 (.299) record.

Patton, 53, was an assistant at Maryland Eastern Shore last season.

Patton has strong ties to the Volunteer State. He is a Nashville native who played at Belmont and also worked as an assistant at Middle Tennessee and Tennessee State.

Patton's 184 wins at CU rank second in program history behind Sox Walseth (261-245, 1957-76). He took over as the interim coach on Jan. 16, 1996, after Joe Harrington's resignation, and then guided the Buffs to a 22-10 record with Chauncey Billups during his first full season (1996-97).
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