Former Butler Guard Luke Patten Joining Duquesne as Preferred Walk-On

Guard Luke Patten was a key member of the Butler boys basketball recent success along with current Purdue guard Ethan Morton.

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After losing in the WPIAL Championship Game his junior season, unfortunate circumstances prevented Patten from participating his senior season as Butler took home the WPIAL trophy.

During an open gym session between his junior and senior season, Patten went up for a dunk and when he landed on the floor, his kneecap popped out and he tore the ligament that held his kneecap in place.

That gruesome injury kept Patten (6-foot-4, 180 lbs.) out for his senior season and killed any opportunity of him getting recruited and earning scholarships. As he rehabbed his knee, Patten and his family thought it would be best for him to attend a post graduate school and he went to IMG Academy, which was a place his family was familiar with. Luke’s older brother, Nick, also choose to enroll there to play baseball before moving on to Delaware. Nick Patten ended up getting drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 28th Round of the 2018 MLB Draft.

The recovery process for Patten’s knee injury was well over a year before he felt 100% recovered, which is how he currently feels. It’s always been a dream of Patten’s to play D-I basketball so he was very interested when the Duquesne basketball program gave him the opportunity to join them as a preferred walk-on.

Courtesy of Luke Patten

“Duquesne initially reached out during the first half of my season,” Patten tells Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Both my coaches at IMG have connections to Duquesne so I talked to my parents and talked about how it would be interesting if I reached out to see if I would have a walk-on opportunity there and it kind of stemmed from there.”

“They reached out and said I had a spot a couple of weeks ago and guaranteed me a spot on the team. Since then, I’ve been talking to my family about whether I wanted to go the Division III route and go to a place where I could go play and get on the floor right away or if I wanted to go the Division I route and try and earn some time over a couple of years. I made the the decision a couple of days ago and locked things up.”

Considering he’s always been a starter and key member of the teams he’s played on, joining the Dukes as a walk-on with be a learning experience and hard work for Patten but he says he’s up for the challenge.

“Ever since I was a kid, playing D-I basketball has always been a dream of mine,” said Patten. “I want to go give it a shot and see if I can do it. Plus, I’ve been watching Duquesne for a while and have watched them since I was a kid. Now having the opportunity to join them is great. I love their style of play and want to give it a shot with them.”

“As far as my strength, I’m definitely a shooter. With the knee surgery, I think I’m a person that handle adversity very well and with what I’m been through, being on the court I know that it could also be my last time so I always give everything I have. I believe I have really good court IQ and pick things up really quick.”