Some of his friends from his coaching days at the University of Colorado might think Ricardo Patton has lost his intensity.
Patton had been on the job as an assistant coach at the University of Denver for one week. Asked what he could do to help 33-year-old Rodney Billups make a smooth transition to head coach, Patton said: “I’m going to suggest that he smile every day. Something I didn’t do enough of at CU was smile.”
The fact that Patton, 57, is smiling more than when he ran the CU men’s program isn’t to suggest he has lost his drive, however.
“There’s no question that I can help him,” Patton said of Billups. “I can help him in recruiting. Being a head coach is a fast-paced responsibility. Things come at you quickly. It can be overwhelming for a first-time head coach.”
Patton has nearly 30 years of coaching experience, including 11 years as the head coach at CU and four at Northern Illinois. He most recently was coaching high school basketball in Georgia. He said he now is comfortable wearing the hat of an assistant coach even though his head coaching record at CU was 184-160, including two appearances in the NCAA Tournament and four in the NIT.
“A good assistant coach realizes and understands who he is,” Patton said. “The head coach makes decisions; the assistant coach makes suggestions.”
Patton still is somewhat amazed that he has returned to the Front Range. His departure from Boulder wasn’t a warm separation even though Patton announced before the beginning of his final season, in 2006-07, that it would be his last season with the Buffs.
“I can’t say that it didn’t work out for me at CU,” Patton said. “I have warm feelings about the opportunity afforded me at CU. For me, it did work out. Sometimes an administration and fans want to see something new.”
Patton was an assistant coach at CU for three years before moving to the head coaching chair for the 1996-97 season.
He played a key role in the Buffs’ recruitment of Chauncey Billups, who became an All-America guard before starring in the NBA. Chauncey is the older brother of DU’s new head coach. The connection provides a hint why Rodney Billups made a quick call to Patton once he landed the job with the Pioneers.
“This is something I never thought would happen,” Patton said. “I was doing things I enjoy doing and settled into coaching high school basketball in Georgia. But there’s no way I could say no (to Rodney). For me, it’s special that our families feel the same way about each other.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296, imoss@denverpost.com or @irvmoss
