Jerry Tipton on UK basketball

When Patrick Patterson hobbled into the training room on crutches Friday, his teammates thought (hoped? prayed?) it was a joke.

“Joe’s face dropped,” Patterson said of teammate Joe Crawford. “He said, ‘Stop playing. It’s not April Fool’s yet.’ ”

[[ Watch an audio slideshow of Patterson’s season, and hear comments from Billy Gillispie, Ramel Bradley and Perry Stevenson. ]]

It was no joke. An X-ray of Patterson’s sore left ankle on Friday revealed a stress fracture. UK’s star freshman will not play again this season.

On the plus side, Patterson committed himself again to returning to Kentucky next season rather than enter this year’s NBA draft.

“I know I’m not ready,” he said. “There’s no possible way I’m going.”

UK Coach Billy Gillispie put on a brave face. He noted his team’s toughness in overcoming injury earlier this season. He noted how the Cats overcame a 6-7 start to get in position to play at No.1 Tennessee on Sunday for a share of the lead in the Southeastern Conference regular-season race.

But Gillispie did not dismiss the new obstacle that seems too much to overcome.

“It’s going to get a lot tougher,” he said. “But it’s not impossible. This team has played a special way of basketball. We’ll just have to play a little more special.”

Patterson acknowledged his shock at having a stress fracture. He said he woke up Tuesday morning with pain in the ankle. He played 37 minutes against Ole Miss on Wednesday night.and felt fine on Thursday.

But when he woke up on Friday, the ankle hurt. UK trainers recommended an X-ray, which revealed the fracture.

“I started crying when I found out I couldn’t play the rest of the season,” Patterson said. “Because I couldn’t play anymore I felt I let down my teammates.”

Patterson is UK’s second-leading scorer (16.4 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (7.7 rpg). He’s the team’s sole presence around the basket. He also leads the SEC in minutes played at 38.9, on average.

“I have not been around a freshman who was asked to do more or done more for a team,” Gillispie said.

Patterson, who has had ankle problems (sprains and “tweaks”) since high school, said he would be playing through the pain at Tennessee if the X-ray had not been taken.

“But the doctors said if I continue to play, it’ll tear on through,” he said. “It’d be 20 times worse. If I play, the likelihood of playing next year would not be good.”

Teammates Ramel Bradley and Perry Stevenson spoke bravely of carrying on.

When asked what he’d tell fans who believe the injury ruined UK’s chances of success the rest of the way, Stevenson said, “All I can do is tell them, watch. Look and see. I think we’ll be all right.”

Gillispie took a more sober-minded view while accentuating the positive.

“It’s easy to say we’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s a devastating blow.”

Gillispie likened the injury to a setback in life. The UK coach pointed out again that the key will be how the Cats respond.

Gillispie voiced his confidence that the Cats will compete. He did not see drastic changes in how UK plays. It’s too late in the season to orchestrate an overhaul, he said.