Pattillo signs with Western Kentucky
By GUERIN EMIG, World Sports Writer
6/12/2009
Last Modified: 6/12/2009 4:56 AM
NORMAN — Juan Pattillo has found a new home. The former Oklahoma Sooner, dismissed in May for violating team policy, signed with Western Kentucky after visiting the Sun Belt Conference school last weekend.
"It's a good fit for me," he told the Bowling Green (Ky.) Daily News.
The 6-foot-6 forward will sit out the 2009-10 season under NCAA transfer rules before finishing his eligibility in 2010-11.
Pattillo averaged 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds last year after coming out of redshirt one game into OU's Big 12 Conference season. He was instrumental in several games as the Sooners built their 30-win season. But he also lapsed on other occasions and was even suspended from OU's victory at Texas Tech on Feb. 28.
Pattillo told the Daily News his experience in Norman was "all right... just all right. I kind of struggled coming out of redshirt halfway through the season, not really knowing the plays. It's a tough transition for a newcomer anyway, then I had to play catch-up."
As to why the redshirt came off when it did — the Sooners contended Pattillo approached coach Jeff Capel before their victory over Texas Jan. 12 with a desire to play — Pattillo said: "It's quite a long story. I don't really want to go into it because you can't go back on it now. I made the decision, but there's more to it."
