Coach Craig Patterson to be inducted to OK Coaches Association HOF

Marlow ‘78 grad back in Outlaw Country

By Michael Swisher

KT&FP Editor

What do Curtis Lofton, Kevin Bookout and Jason White have in common?

Other than being standouts in their respective sports at the University of Oklahoma, all three were also coached in high school by Craig Patterson.

Good players such as those listed above.

Good teams.

Good schools.

Good communities.

Good people around him.

Patterson credits all those things for the honor that’s soon to be bestowed upon him.

The former Kingfisher High School boys’ basketball coach, girls’ golf coach and athletic director will be inducted Saturday into the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Patterson is one of 10 people to be inducted during a 6:30 p.m. ceremony Saturday, July 22, at Southern Hills Marriott Hotel in Tulsa. Three years ago, the Marlow High School 1978 alumnus retired and moved back to Marlow with his wife, Karee.

Patterson has been doing some landscaping work with the Marlow school district. He also will be doing some work with Marlow Public Schools. It’s possible that he will be helping Athletic Director Daryn Brantley when multiple events are taking place, on an as-needed basis. He will also assist Trevor Hudgens during some 8th and 9th grade boys’ basketball practices.

“I am very excited to have Craig helping out a little bit this year,” said Marlow Superintendent Corey Holland. “His parents both worked for the district. He and his brothers and sister are Marlow grads. Craig brings a lot of school experience with him. He is a class guy. He is willing to do whatever needs to be done to help us out wherever he can. Even though its only part-time, we are fortunate to have someone of his caliber working for us this year.”

Joining Patterson in this year’s inductees circle will be Jerry Bates of Tuttle, Billy Jack Bowen of Silo, Will Ethridge of Edmond Santa Fe, Kevin Harrington of Lawton MacArthur, Gary Hendrix of Fort Gibson, Samuel Horsechief of Tahlequah Sequoyah, Mark Hudson of Preston, Jarrett Hurt of Claremore and Linda Wiginton of Altus.

Patterson spent nearly four decades in the teaching and coaching profession, the longest stint of which was spent in Kingfisher.

He got his first job at Stillwater where he spent one year as an assistant boys’ basketball coach. He held the same position the next three years at Choctaw.

That led Patterson to his first coaching job at Chandler, where he spent 10 seasons.

From there, Patterson coached in Lewisville, Texas, for two years before returning to Oklahoma to coach at Tuttle in the 1998-99 season.

That’s where he crossed paths with White.

Though White was best-known for his football exploits, the future Heisman Trophy winner also played basketball for a season under Patterson.

Patterson then made the move to Stroud, where he crossed paths with Bookout.

The standout athlete set the state career record for home runs and was among the nation’s best in both the shot put and discus.

But Bookout also played basketball at a high level and did so for Patterson in his sophomore and junior seasons.

Patterson didn’t coach the future OU basketball signee during his senior campaign because then-Kingfisher Superintendent Max Thomas lured him to Kingfisher in 2001.

Thomas was at Stroud when Patterson coached at Chandler.

“I always felt like even when we had better teams, he found ways to beat us,” Thomas said of Patterson.

That became a trademark of Patterson’s teams at KHS over the next dozen years...even when they weren’t the most talented, the Yellowjackets found a way to be competitive and usually win.

Patterson’s Kingfisher teams were 213-104 and advanced to at least the area tournament in all but one of his seasons.

The Jackets went to the state tournament four times during that stretch: 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2012.

He’s one of just four KHS boys’ basketball coaches to win a state tournament game as his 2007 squad advanced to the 3A semifinals.

Patterson’s family roots dug deep in Kingfisher as he and his wife, Karee, a counselor at KPS during their years here, saw their children Kasse and Derek both graduate from KHS.

The younger Patterson followed his father’s footsteps and now coaches at KHS as well.

The elder Patterson’s success wasn’t limited to the basketball court.

Patterson also coached girls golf and the Lady Jackets brought home three consecutive state championships from 2008-10. Bethany Darrough was a multi-time individual state champion.

“I’ve just been really fortunate to have a lot of really good players over the years and I was surrounded by some really good coaches, too,” Patterson said.

Patterson stepped away from basketball after the 2012-13 season.

As athletic director, he was instrumental in picking his own successor. That turned out to be Jared Reese, who won four state titles over the next 10 years.

Patterson spent five years as AD and girls golf coach before retiring after 36 total years of service - 17 of them at Kingfisher.

“This became our home,” Patterson said at the time.

In all, Patterson’s basketball teams were 442-206.

“It’s a great honor,” Patterson said of the OCA honor. “It shows that I had a lot of great help and was at a lot of great places.”

Toni Hopper, Managing Editor of The Marlow Review, contributed to this article.

Article courtesy of Michael Swisher, Editor of Kingfisher Times & Free Press