GH native discusses basketball and mental health
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BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR APR. 17-23, 2020 21
BY JASON COHEN
The stigma of depression
is real, even with athletes.
A Bronx native, who plays
hoops overseas, spoke about
the sport and how it has impacted
his mental health.
Marcus Patterson, 25, was
born and raised in Gun Hill.
He grew up seeing kids get
shot, stabbed, using and dealing
drugs and many people
he knew went to jail.
Fortunately, in middle
school, he found basketball.
“I grew up watching my
brothers play,” he said. “I
knew I wanted to be like my
brothers.” Patterson has fi ve
brothers, including Tyshawn,
who played ball at Stetson
University.
He played at MS 113 and
then at Mt. St. Michael Academy.
While the team won the
championship his sophomore
year, he still wasn’t happy.
“I just didn’t have the
guidance I needed as a kid,
especially growing up in the
Bronx,” he said. “I didn’t really
talk to anyone about
what I was going through.”
After high school he
played basketball at Sage College
in Albany. According to
Patterson, he had the talent
to succeed, but had poor confi
dence.
“Going through what I did
made me fall out of love with
the game,” he said.
The team won a championship
his sophomore year,
yet he wasn’t sure what he
wanted to do upon graduation.
His girlfriend encouraged
him to play professionally
and he heeded her advice.
Patterson went abroad
and played for the England
Bucs in the National Basketball
League and at the same
time, obtained his masters
in psychology from the University
of East London. At
that point, he fi nally began to
surround himself with good
people, read self help books
and found himself in a better
place mentally.
But, about a year and a
half ago, he partially tore
his ACL, ending his season.
He left England and moved
to New Jersey with his mom,
Jennifer Caldwell, grandmother,
Eastdel Graham,
wife, Nicole and his aunt.
This was a whole new experience
and it changed him.
It was much quieter than the
Bronx. He worked with Joe
Ross, who trains people such
as Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie
Irving and worked his way
back to shape.
With his mental and physical
health doing much better,
he chose to continue his
career. He forked over $3,000
and in September 2019 went
to play for Portimonense S.C
in Portugal.
The season was going
great, but it was cancelled in
March because of COVID-19.
“I wasn’t ready to come
back home yet,” Patterson
said.
When the crisis dies down,
he plans to return. He credits
his success due to him working
on his mental health. He
told the Bronx Times he still
has a long way to go and plans
to talk to a therapist.
“It’s mental health extremely
important,” he said.
“It will take you far in life.
You’ll be able to focus on what
really makes you happy. I just
want people to know even
if they have been through
struggles and tribulations,
see it through and face those
challenges.”
Gun Hill native Marcus Patterson playing overseas
Photocourtesy Luis Azevedo.
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