BY MIKE KOSIK
Staff Writer
Blake Patrick acknowledges that hard work helped him achieve his goal of scoring 1,000 points in his Holdingford basketball career.
But he also knows he had support along the way.
"Without my teammates and all my coaches, and all the support from my family and friends there's no possible way I would be able to do that. I want to make sure they know that I'm very appreciative and I thank them a lot," he said. The senior guard reached the 1000-point milestone at a home game against Rush city Feb. 6. "It's always been one of my dreams ever since I was a little kid," he said. Going into the Rush City game he needed 16 points to reach 1,000. "I was very nervous, and I knew the crowd was waiting for me to score," Patrick said. "I don't think my hands have ever sweated that bad in my life." He also added that he wasn't shooting that well. When the second half started, he had 13 points and a couple of free throws got him to 15, and he was told he needed just one more point.
"Coach (Nate Miller) told me I had one minute to score," Patrick said, "and I ended up scoring." He hit a three from the corner. He admitted that he breathed a sigh of relief when he made the shot. Patrick, who has always played guard, began his varsity career as a freshman. But after starting a couple of games, he crashed into the wall on a drive toward the basket and broke his arm.
He missed half of the season but came back for one playoff game.
From his sophomore year, he's been in the starting line up.
He has a favorite shot.
"I like my step back," he said. "I like to dribble and cross over and take a step back to my left and then I like to shoot."
It's the shot he used at the buzzer that gave the Huskers a win earlier this season over Eden Valley-Watkins. Both the Eagles and Huskers tied for the conference lead at that time.
Patrick said he works at his game during the offseason as well. "I do a lot of shooting at my house," he said. That includes some competition with his younger brother Tyson, a sophomore on the team.
"Me and my brother kind of go at it a lot," he said. We like to play one-on-one."
He also has friends over and they sometimes go to St. John's.
Being on the team with those friends is a big part of enjoying basketball.
"We've been playing together ever since we could probably play basketball," he said of his teammates. "We've been friends ever since. We have a lot of chemistry. We know each other very well."
Patrick is a three-sport athlete.
During football he played wide receiver and safety. He also punted and returned punts and kick-offs.
In the spring for track he runs the 100 and 200 meter dashes and is a member of the 4x100 relay team. He also does the long jump.
But right now he's concentrating on the basketball season and the Huskers are having one of their best seasons in a long time.
As of the end of last week, they were 14-4 and 8-1 in the conference, tied for first with Eden Valley-Watkins.
"We've been playing very well," Patrick said. "Come end of February, early March we need to be playing our best basketball in order to make a run in the playoffs. That's what we all want to do."
"Without my teammates and all my coaches, and all the support from my family and friends there's no possible way I would be able to do that."
Holdingford senior guard Blake Patrick reached a milestone last week when he scored his 1000th career point.
PHOTO BY MIKE KOSIK