Meridian’s Arianna Patton signs with Jones College
Published 3:39 pm Monday, November 2, 2020
- Senior guard Arianna Patton, center front, signs with Jones College Monday afternoon to continue her basketball career as members of her family look on during a signing ceremony at Meridian High School.
Arianna Patton received nine offers to play basketball at the next level. She ended up signing with the school who offered her first.
A senior guard at Meridian High School, Patton announced her decision to play her next two years at Jones College, a decision she confirmed Monday afternoon by signing a letter of intent at a ceremony hosted at the school’s multipurpose building.
“Jones has a great program, and they were the first one to offer me and show interest,” Patton said. “When I went to visit, it was a great environment. They’re like a home away from home.”
MHS girls basketball coach Deneshia Faulkner said Patton is the only player still around from when she took over the program four years ago, so seeing Patton get an opportunity to play at the next level is extra-special.
“We’ve been through this together and built this together,” Faulkner said. “I’m going to hate to see her go. She’s a really good kid; she’s like a daughter to me.”
Just having nine schools from which to choose was a blessing in itself, Patton said, and she’s humbled to have been given so many options.
“It means a lot,” Patton said. “I’ve been putting in hard work every day with no days off, so it means a lot that these coaches took time out to recruit me.”
Faulkner said Jones College is getting an all-around good player and someone who will represent the Bobcats well off the court.
“It’s the whole package,” Faulkner said. “She just received a few academic accolades today. Like I said, she’s a really good kid and a great teammate, and it makes it that much better for her to be the basketball player that she is.”
Now that her signing is confirmed, Patton can focus on her upcoming senior season at MHS. She said she’s grateful to have a chance to play beyond high school and to keep competing in the sport she loves.
“I like going to different places and competing with other people and also competing against my teammates in practice,” Patton said. “It’s just a wonderful sport.”
As a junior, Patton averaged 14.2 points, 3.8 steals, 3.7 assists and 4.2 deflections per game.
