Kirkpatrick Finds New Home on West Coast
Mike Kirkpatrick came a long way to continue his high school basketball career, and ever since that time, he's been moving steadily westward.
Kirkpatrick, a strong 5-11, 190 point guard from the College of Eastern Utah in Price, Ut., committed to San Diego this week.
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CEU Head Coach Bryan Zollinger informed JUCO Junction on Monday that Kirkpatrick picked USD after considering Weber State. Kirkpatrick took his only official visit of the fall to San Diego (Oct. 10-12).
"San Diego is a world class city, and he was sold on the coaches -- they sold the school, the program and what they had to offer him," Zollinger said.
A native of Germany, Kirkpatrick came to the United States several years ago to advance his basketball career. He wound up at a private school in Virginia, and his play there led to a scholarship offer by North Carolina A&T.
Kirkpatrick played his freshman year at N.C. A&T, who finished 1-26 and saw its head coach fired at the end of the season. Kirkpatrick averaged 6.7 points and knocked down 36 percent of his three point attempts for the Aggies in 2002-2003.
After leaving A&T, Kirkpatrick headed west to the College of Eastern Utah to continue his basketball career. Many college coaches saw him this past summer at the Mullen JC Camp in Tulsa, Okla., and came away impressed with his leadership skills.
"Michael is one of the most positive and enthusiastic guys I've ever coached," Zollinger said. "The coaches at San Diego really like his leadership and strength of character."
"He's tough with the ball and unselfish," the coach continued. "We are going to play him at the point guard this year, but he could play both the one and the two."
After finishing up his sophomore campaign at Eastern Utah this winter, Kirkpatrick will have two years of eligibility remaining at San Diego.