TCU Basketball Associate HC David Patrick leaving for UC-Riverside

According to sources, TCU Basketball Associate Head Coach David Patrick is leaving Fort Worth to take the head coaching position at UC-Riverside.

Patrick, who came to TCU with Jamie Dixon two seasons ago, is an exceptional recruiter who has brought stars like Ben Simmons, Kouat Noi, and Lat Mayen to America - and the latter two to TCU. Patrick was born in Bermuda but grew up in Melbourne, spent four years at LSU prior to coming to Fort Worth. The godfather to current NBA star Ben Simmons, Patrick helped revitalize a Tigers’ program that had struggled since the days of Shaquille O’Neal average 20 wins per season under his watch. He scored a pair of top ten recruiting classes in his tenure.

A one-time Houston Rockets scout, Patrick has ties to the West Coast as well, where he spent four years on the staff at St Marys. He joins a Riverside program that has not had a winning season since the 2008-2009 campaign, and has struggled in making the transition from DII to DI. The Highlanders were an exceptional DII program, making three Final Fours as well as a National Championship game, but has a sub-.350 record since joining the Big West Conference, never finishing higher than fifth. It will be a total rebuild at Riverside for Coach Patrick, but with his recruiting acumen, it’s not hard to imagine he will get things turned around quickly.

It is unclear at this time if Coach Patrick will remain with TCU through their Tournament run - the first for the program in 20 years - but one would imagine he will stay at least through opening weekend. Coach Dixon will have a big hole to replace on his staff, which could see Ryan Miller slide into the Associate Head Coaching role, though he has also been mentioned as a candidate for several other jobs.

Good luck to Coach Patrick at UCR.