By Jason Pugh, Northwestern State Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations
NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State men’s basketball team’s 2023-24 roster is taking shape.
The Demons announced Tuesday the addition of three players, bringing the number of newcomers on first-year coach Rick Cabrera’s roster to six.
All three of the newest Demons have ties to the Panhandle Conference where Cabrera spent the past two seasons coaching at Tallahassee Community College.
Cabrera coached new signee Addison Patterson, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound forward from Missassauga, Ontario.
Patterson began his collegiate career at Oregon and redshirted one season at Nevada before playing the 2022-23 season at Tallahassee where he helped Cabrera build an Eagles team that reached the Final Four of the NJCAA Tournament. Patterson led the Eagles in scoring at 19.4 points per game while grabbing 5.1 rebounds per game.
A versatile athlete, Patterson added 3.5 assists per game while shooting 52.3 percent from the field. A consensus Top 100 recruit out of Bella Vista College Prep, Patterson averaged 4.6 points per game for Oregon in 28 games as a true freshman in 2019-20.
During his lone season at Tallahassee, Patterson scored in double figures in 31 of his 33 games, including 16 games with at least 20 points and three 30-plus-point games topped by a 39-point eruption in a Jan. 18 win at Gulf Coast State.
“I’m really excited to coach one of the best junior college players in the country in Addison Patterson,” Cabrera said. “Addison displays a versatile game from every position on the court. His ability to score the ball is on an elite level, but his IQ and his passing ability puts him on another level.”
While Cabrera and Patterson have a direct prior relationship, the Demons’ first-year head coach saw plenty of Cliff Davis and Jatarion “JT” Warren when the pair played together at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.
The pair teamed up to lead Chipola to a school-record 21-0 start and the No. 1 NJCAA ranking before ultimately taking the Indians to a share of the Panhandle Conference regular-season championship and an at-large berth in the NJCAA National Tournament.
Davis, a 6-2, 185-pound guard from Thomasville, Georgia, led a balanced Indian offense in scoring at 10.9 points per game while handing out 1.2 assists per game in his 21 games. Davis more than doubled his scoring production from his freshman season at Chipola when he scored 5.3 points per game while shooting 40.9 percent from 3-point range.
As a sophomore, Davis scored in double figures 13 times, saving his top scoring game for the first-round national tournament matchup with Cape Fear. Davis sank five of 10 3-pointers against Cape Fear, shooting 9-for-14 overall en route to a 23-point outing in a 30-point Chipola win.
Prior to his two seasons at Chipola, Davis was named the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Class 2A South Georgia Player of the Year while at Thomasville High School where he helped the Bulldogs win the 2018 Class 2A state title. A two-time all-region player at Thomasville, Davis earned Atlanta Journal Constitution First-Team All-State honors as a senior and was an honorable mention all-state selection as a junior.
“Cliff comes to us from one of the best programs in the country at Chipola College,” Cabrera said. “He was coached by one of the best in the business in Donnie Tyndall. Cliff is arguably one of the best shooters in the country. Coaching against Cliff was very nerve wracking because of his shooting ability, but he can also attack effectively off the dribble.”
Warren, a 6-7, 205-pound, forward from Tifton, Georgia, averaged 8.9 points per game while shooting 59.4 percent from the field, including a 51.9 percent clip from 3-point range on 27 attempts. Warren ranked second on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game, grabbing three defensive boards per game.
A versatile defender, Warren tied for second on the team, averaging 1.2 steals per game in his 26 appearances.
Warren reached double figures in 13 games, including a stretch of four straight games from Dec. 30-Jan. 14. He poured in a season-high 20 points in a Feb. 1 win against Gulf Coast State, hitting nine of 12 shots from the field.
“JT comes to NSU with a high motor and a skill set that helps us at the forward spot,” Cabrera said. “I’ve coached against JT for two years and have always been fascinated by his toughness and talent. He’s played for a high-level team and a well-respected coach in Donnie Tyndall, and I know those attributes will translate to the Division I level.”
The trio joins Chase Forte, JC Riley and Jimel Lane in Cabrera’s first Northwestern State recruiting class.