Steve Patterson

Steven John Patterson (June 24, 1948 – July 28, 2004) was an American professional basketball player and coach who played five seasons in the National Basketball Association. A 6'9" center, Patterson attended Santa Maria High School in Santa Maria, California, where in his senior season he averaged 34 points per game, was named All-American, and was named California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Player of the Year while leading his team to the CIF championship.

At UCLA, Patterson was the starting center in the seasons between Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Walton, and was part of the Bruins' string of seven consecutive NCAA titles under coach John Wooden. He averaged 21.9 points and 20.2 rebounds per game on the freshman team in 1966–67, then redshirted in 1967–68. In 1968–69, the third of those seven championship seasons, he served as backup to Alcindor. He then started at center for the Bruins' 1970 and 1971 national championship teams.