Saturday, July 30, 2022
Patrick Spencer grew up in Rhode Island. He was a typical kid, but he soon emerged as a very good young lacrosse player in grades 4-6.
He attended Our Lady of Mercy and played junior lacrosse at East Greenwich and North Kingstown.
Now, in recent years, Spencer has been well on his way to establishing himself as one of the top two-sport athletes in America. In an age of specialization, there are few athletes who excel beyond high school in multiple sports.
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He may not measure up to the legendary Jim Brown, Syracuse University football and lacrosse star turned NFL great, or Deion Sanders, who played in the NFL and Major League Baseball simultaneously, but few players have conquered two sports. It’s hard, Bo knows.
Spencer may have taken one of the most unique routes.
He went from being the best college lacrosse player in America, skipping professional lacrosse, instead playing a year of college basketball, and now he has a chance to be on the “showbiz.”
Spencer recently signed what is called a Test 10 contract with the Golden State Warriors in the NBA. The contract is essentially a non-guaranteed minimum salary deal that gives teams more flexibility in filling roster spots.
Best college lacrosse player in the United States
In college, Spencer was a megastar.
Attending Loyola University, he was simply the best and most exciting college lacrosse player in 2019.
“He finished the most decorated career of any student-athlete at Loyola in the history of the school… He became the first recipient of the Tewaaraton Award program and the Most Outstanding Player for USILA Lt. Raymond J. Enners. Ended his career as a member of the NCAA Division I all-time leader in assists (231) and second in Division I in points (380)…Set school and Patriot League records in both categories and was second in all time at Loyola in goals scored (149),” according to Loyola.
He was then the No. 1 draft pick in pro lacrosse, but he strayed.
Spencer had one year of college eligibility remaining and opted to attend Northwestern University to play a year of college basketball.
At Northwestern, Spencer, who hadn’t played organized basketball in four years, averaged 10.4 points per game for the Big Ten team as a 6-foot-3 guard.
Then, COVID hit, and his professional sports career was put on hold. He played professional basketball in Germany for a year and then last season he played in the NBA G League and averaged 7.5 points per game.
Back to his Rhode Island days
“He loved all sports, but especially basketball and lacrosse, and would attend as many PC and URI games as he could. He was here from fourth to sixth grade, then the family moved back to Maryland,” said one of his Rhode Island youth coaches, Herb DeSimone.
“A great guy, always smiling, very modest. He was very talented and always had a stick or a basketball in his hands,” DeSimone said.
The Spencer family moved from Rhode Island to Maryland and Spencer attended The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, one of the top lacrosse high schools in America.
Today, Spencer is about to establish himself as one of the best athletes in America – watch and see how his career with the NBA champion Warriors goes.
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