Former Sage basketball player has new focus

In an effort to extend his basketball career, former Sage College standout Marcus Patterson invested his money in an asset he knew he could count on.

The 25-year-old former Gator invested in himself.

Last summer, Patterson packed his bags for what he thought would be a brief trip to Portugal to attend a camp, a move that turned into his first pro contract.

"I decided to do a Portugal basketball tour. I paid $3,000 just to go there and play around some of the top teams in Portugal and I ended up averaging about 15 points, seven rebounds over seven games in eight days," Patterson said. "I ended up playing really well, got an agent out there and the rest is history. I literally packed my bags just to play for one week."

The fact that Patterson landed with the Portimonense Sporting Clube of the Primeira Liga was a victory in itself considering prior to that tryout, the Bronx native was home learning to manage feelings of depression that had surfaced during a year away from the court.

After graduating from Sage in 2017, Patterson earned a master's degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of East London while playing for the school's basketball team before he was struck with adversity in the form of a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"I had a really good senior year at Sage. I had a good opportunity to continue my career and get my master's degree while playing," Patterson said. "I played at their collegiate level but I was lucky enough to go to a really good school. I went to UEL and they partner with the London Lions, which is the No. 1 professional basketball team in London."

The time at home rehabbing the injury was tough on Patterson, both physically and mentally as he started feeling depressed.

"After being home and sitting out a year, I'm...