Jon Patton from Signal Mountain poses for a portrait inside of the Chattanooga Times Free Press studioAs football receivers go, Signal Mountain's Jon Patton has proven to be a standout scorer in his high school basketball career. Or is it the other way around?
Patton played the final regular-season basketball game of his career Monday and had 12 points in a 50-42 loss to Lookout Valley, leaving him with a school-record 1,584 career points.
Because Patton made a basket with less than 10 seconds to play last Friday, lifting the Eagles past Notre Dame 47-46, Signal Mountain has a bye heading into the District 7-AA tournament.
"He's very laid back but also very competitive," Eagles basketball coach Steve Redman said. "He just doesn't necessarily express his competitiveness the way other people do."
With a Region 4 berth already locked up, Patton has at least three more games to add to his career total. His more than 2,200 football receiving yards also is a school record, so the 6-foot-4 senior appears to have some options at the college level.
"I think he's a very good football player," Redman said. "I think he loves basketball."