Syracuse vs. Indiana: Let's Win This One For Ron Patterson, Too

With all this concern over avenging the Syracuse Orange who came before us, we might also want to take a moment to think about the Syracuse Orange to come who also deserve a modicum of vengeance when SU takes on the Indiana Hoosiers this Thursday.

2013 Syracuse recruit Ron Patterson was once 2012 Indiana recruit Ron Patterson. That was before Patterson, who had qualified under the NCAA, had his scholarship revoked due to not meeting Indiana's requirements. Patterson appealed the decision but was denied once again.

That alone sounds semi-fair but there's the curious fact that Indiana has over-recruited the Class of 2012. They had one extra commit than scholarships available, making Patterson's denial just a wee bit convenient.

For his part, Patterson still has some bad blood for his former dream school.

"I’ll be cheering for Syracuse,’’ Patterson said in a telephone interview on Monday. "Absolutely. I don’t like Indiana.’’

"I feel like they made a bad decision,’’ Patterson said. "I didn’t like it. It was an excuse. They needed to get rid of someone.’’

After a year at Brewster Academy, Gerry McNamara noticed the big man and Syracuse swooped in. Even though the Orange didn't recruit him the first time around, Patterson says "I’ve always liked Syracuse. It shows that sometimes things happen for a reason.’’

We're hoping this Syracuse team provides Ron with a little closure on his Indiana experience so he can start kicking some butt for SU with a clean slate this fall.