Black Hills State University Athletics

PRE-BHSU
Patterson will join the Yellow Jackets as a redshirt junior, following one season at Ellsworth Community College and two years at Francis Marion University. During the 2024-25 year he helped the Panthers to their third consecutive 20-win season with a 20-12 record, and a trip to the semifinals of the NJCAA Region 11 Tournament, as he averaged 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting the ball 45.3 percent from the field and 71.7 percent from the free throw line. Under the direction of head coach Bryan Bender, he scored in double figures in eight games, and on three occasions scored 20 or more points. He set a new career-high of 26 points against Des Moines Area Community College on February 8, 2025, as he shot the ball 8-of-11 from the field and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. He also was able to grab seven or more rebounds in eight games and once recorded double digits as he set a career-high of 16 rebounds against Iowa Western Community College in an 85-78 win on February 5, 2025. The win against the Reivers was his lone double-double of the year as he added 22 points to go along with his 16 rebounds. He closed his ECC career by receiving ICCAC Division II Honorable Mention All-Region honors. Prior to making the trip to the Midwest, he played in 26 games while making one start during his redshirt freshman season at FMU in Florance, South Carolina. While averaging 11.1 minutes for the Patriots he recorded 4.3 points and 1.8 rebounds per game as he shot the ball 35.4 percent from the field and 73.2 percent from the free throw line. He was able to score in double figures in five games, which was highlighted by a season-best of 17 points in a 100-93 win at Emory & Henry on November 11, 2023, in what was his first game of his collegiate career. He shot 5-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe in his debut against the Wasps. In his first season on the court at Francis Marion he grabbed four or more rebounds six times and set a season-best of six in a November 15, 2023, win (123-114) at Coker. He redshirted the 2022-23 season as a freshman at FMU. As a prep standout he was a team captain for head coach Jordan Fair at Oldsmar Christian School, where he averaged 17.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game as a senior and earned first team all-conference honors in the Sunshine Independent Athletic Association. He helped guide the Eagles to a 16-9 record in 2021-22, which included four wins over nationally-ranked teams. Willie is the son of Willie Patterson II and Katrina Mingo, and has four siblings, Jenifer and Kadecia Mingo, Javaris Patterson, and Henry Butter.