basketball scholarship from Syracuse University.

And this week David Patrick admitted that he was hopeful that it would be the first step towards fulfilling his long time goal of eventually becoming a professional in the National Basketball Association.

Born in Flatts and raised here before emigrating to Australia a decade ago at the age of nine, the 19-year-old who idolises Phoenix's point guard Kevin Johnson is ecstatic about enrolling at the prominent university which has been a force in NCAA basketball for some time.

"There a really no words to express my happiness, my goal was to get a scholarship somewhere in America but I didn't expect to get one this early,'' said Patrick who still visits Bermuda regularly.

The son of Icen A. Patrick of Bermuda, he was an exchange student from Melbourne, Australia for just one year when his play at Baton Rouge High School in Lousiana gained prominence.

His sharpness on the court while a student at Chapel Trafton High School in Baton Rogue, Lousiana, also caught the attention of other universities, including Universities of New Orleans, Memphis and Miami. But it was the perseverance of Syracuse's coach that helped to persuade him to visit the Upstate New York facilities.

"The coach was sent a film of me playing and then flew to New Orleans to watch me in May. I visited the school and was quite impressed with the facilities, and after talking with them decided that it was my first choice,'' said Patrick whose mother Victoreen still resides in Australia.

A former member of the Australian 18-and-under national basketball team, Patrick toured Lousiana as a member of the Australian Amateur Athletic Union All-Star team and was fortunate to make contact that led to him becoming an exchange student with the Chapel Trafton student programme.

He graduated from De La Salle High School in Melbourne last year and has just recently done likewise at Chapel where he was voted the Most Valuable Player.

While many believe that his style of play emulates Kevin Johnson, he realises that he has to work on his overall game in order to reach the status of the Phoenix star.

While he may lack height, at six-feet, he reckons that desire and ability will be the key ingredients in his future development.

"I probably will not grow much taller, but I am not concerned because point guards are not that big anyway, Kevin Johnson and Kenny Anderson of New Jersey Nets are only around six-feet. My game is built on speed and passing, being smaller than the average player will be no disadvantage,'' he reckoned.

A former student at Saltus Cavendish School, Patrick will major in business law and says that he is hopeful that his achievements to date will inspire other young Bermudians to be ambitious.

"I still have lots of friends in Bermuda, hopefully my achievements to date will encourage them to work hard towards their goals,'' he says.

DAVID PATRICK -- Ultimate goal is the NBA