June 6, 2006                                                                             

Patin SMC’s New Women’s Basketball Coach

SPARTANBURG, S.C. –  Spartanburg Methodist College recently named Ralph Patin III of Columbia as the new head coach of the Lady Pioneers Basketball Team.

For Patin, whose father, Ralph Patin, coached basketball and football in his native Louisiana, coaching is a natural progression. Patin’s father  was also his high school coach at Lutcher High School in Lutcher, La.

Most recently Patin coached the Varsity Girl’s Basketball Team at Ridgeview High School in Columbia. Before that, he coached at C.A. Johnson Preparatory Academy and coached and played while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. Patin credits his father as being influential in his decision to become a coach.

Patin attended college at Jackson State in Jackson, Miss. He is married to Nalinee Patin, and they have two children: a son, Jamal, 13, and a daughter, Jasmine, 8.

“I’m a disciplinary kind of guy,” says Patin, who wants to lead the Lady Pioneers to a winning season, but also wants his players to be just as successful academically. “I would like to see a consistent graduation rate,” Patin says of his players.