Catching Up With Patrick Corrigan '09

3/31/2023

There would be no quick fix.

Patrick Corrigan was acutely aware of that coaching fact of life when he accepted the challenge this past June to re-energize the men’s basketball program at Ferrum College.

The 2009 Collegiate School graduate was undaunted, though, even if he was tasked with rebuilding a depleted roster from the 6-19 season the year before and teaching his system to a crew of recruits from hither and yon, all for the opportunity to compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, one of the deepest and toughest Division III leagues in the country.

Even before he settled into his quarters in Ferrum, located in rural Franklin County about 35 miles south of Roanoke, he was off and running. In short order, he hired staff and assembled a 19-player contingent composed mostly of transfers and a handful of college basketball rookies, then barreled full throttle through a demanding season from which the Panthers emerged 10-17 (5-11 in the ODAC).

Though there’s much room for improvement, there were moments when the Panthers played like the team Corrigan envisioned.

They lost five games by five points or fewer, so had the ball bounced differently or they made a defensive stop at just the right moment, they could have conceivably gone 15-12. From Dec. 30 – Jan. 14, they won four of five games. They won a league tournament game at Averitt to reach the quarterfinals.

Two transfers, 6-0 senior guard Deshone Hicks (21.1 points, 5.8 assists) and 6-6 junior forward Calvin Washington (17.6 points, 7.3 rebounds), earned second-team All-ODAC honors. And the Panthers ended the year with three weeks of solid, team basketball that reflected the squad’s buy-in and gives Corrigan great hope for the future.

“If we played the entire year like we did the last three weeks,” Corrigan said, “we would have had a much better record. That just comes with the process. We had a talented roster, but everybody was playing together for the first time. At the end of the year, we were playing 30, 35 minutes the way we should have been playing and doing the things you have to do to win: boxing out, taking charges, rebounding, defending.

“We got to the place where our players didn’t care about anything but winning. You could feel that as a coach. Sometimes it takes time to get there. I feel like we got there at the end of the year.”

One afternoon recently, Corrigan offered thoughts, insights, and reflections about his first season as a college head coach after a decade as an assistant, first at UNC Charlotte, then Ferrum, and, most recently, Cal Poly Pomona.

Speak about the challenges you faced after you were hired in late June.

There were a lot of long days and sleepless nights putting together a team and hiring assistants. We were taking it one day at a time. We brought in a bunch of individuals from different places with different experiences. Everyone was accustomed to where they played last or played throughout their life and had those habits built in. Ultimately, the guys really liked each other. The biggest challenge was just understanding what it takes to win on a daily basis. We got there eventually. It’s a lot more fun when you’re able to compete at a higher level.

Have you been able to slow down and reflect on the season?

Last year, we definitely didn’t slow down because we were recruiting and going right into the season. There was really no time off. It always felt like we were behind. Everyone was new. Everyone had to learn about the program and the school. Since the year ended, it hasn’t been as intense, but there’s still a lot of work to do. We have a good core coming back that will give us a good foundation and a good recruiting class coming in.

Sounds like you’ve laid the groundwork for the future.

If we can start where we left off with that feeling that nothing matters but playing for each other and wanting to win… If we can have the guys understand the importance of the small details, the end of the game situations, executing on both sides of the ball, leaving it all out there… If our core has a good summer getting better and brings that next year and adds it in to the players we’re bringing in, I think we’ll have a chance to compete.

Was being a college head coach all you envisioned?

I loved it. Towards the end of the year when we really started to compete and won a playoff game, it really made it worth it. I’d been through some rebuilds before, so I kind of knew what to expect and knew that it wasn’t going to be perfect or pretty every day. That really prepared me for the different things I dealt with this year and helped me keep my sights set on the direction we’re going. As long as you can push in that direction, eventually you’ll get there. I thought we started to get there near the end.

Seems like you won a lot of hearts and minds in the process.

Absolutely. I feel good about the guys coming back, meeting with them after the season, seeing how they felt the season went and where they want to go from here. It was a great feeling towards the end of the year when you feel like guys want to win so badly. As long as we have that and share that with the guys we bring in, we’ll have a chance to compete. We’re excited about the potential we have and what we’re building for the future.

~Weldon Bradshaw

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