DeKalb’s Brittney Patrick returns home as assistant coach for NIU women’s basketball

As a player at Southern Illinois, DeKalb native and Bolingbrook grad Brittney Patrick said she never had any intention to be a basketball coach.

“I was always a person who said I would never coach,” Patrick said. “I don’t want to do that. Ew, I hate it.”

Five years after her playing career ended, she’s in her hometown as an assistant for the Northern Illinois women under new head coach Jacey Brooks. And she remembers the exact moment her attitude toward coaching shifted.

She was working at Sycamore Integrated Health as a rehabilitation technician after graduating from SIU in 2020.

“I felt lost,” Patrick said. “I want to be involved in sports, I want to help people, but how do I do that? Chris Smith, my high school coach, AAU coach, reached out to me and asked if I wanted an opportunity to help coach with the girls. I was reluctant, but it was like, ‘Let’s do it.’ ”

Patrick made the hour drive each day after work from Sycamore to Bolingbrook. Then on March 5, 2021 - her birthday - she realized coaching was what she wanted to do.

“I walked into practice, and they bought me snacks, gave them to me,” Patrick said. “They stopped the drill and gave me my presents. They were all so excited. We took a Polaroid picture together, and I still have it hanging in my car. From there, I was like, ‘This is the time.’ ”

With Smith’s encouragement, she applied for a graduate assistant spot at Clemson but didn’t get it. She tried once more, applying for a GA spot at Indiana. This time, she got the job.

After two years, 52 wins and two NCAA Tournament appearances with the Hoosiers, she moved on to Murray State for two seasons. The Racers won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament crowns last season.

Now she’s back in DeKalb. She spent two years with the Barbs before transferring to Bolingbrook to finish her high school career. Her parents both went to NIU. William Patrick played football, and Juletta Pippen was a cheerleader.

“The fact DeKalb is home, obviously when you have family supporting you and backing you, I think it means more,” Patrick said. “Being able to come back home and playing in front of my home crowd, that was super enticing for me. I would love the opportunity.”

The NIU position is the first for Brooks as an NCAA Division I head coach after assistant positions at Buffalo and Bowling Green.

In addition to Patrick, Brooks nabbed NIU grad E.C. Hill as an assistant, giving her two coaches with ties to the school and the community.

“To bring on board two assistants, with E.C. playing at Northern and Brittney from the area, it’s just key for me in the recruiting,” Brooks said. “They have so many connections and relationships already built. Walking into the position as a head coach at Northern not being from the area, having two people with those ties right off the bat is going to be key on the recruiting front.”

Patrick started games each of her four years with the Salukis, including 13 as a sophomore and all 59 games in her junior and senior years. She finished her career averaging 4.5 points, 3.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game.

Brooks said Patrick excels at player development and recruiting. She said the staff is young enough to still lace up their shoes and take the court with their players.

And that kind of enthusiasm was what Brooks was looking for."

“Learning about her as a basketball player and a coach made me realize she was someone I wanted to work with on a daily basis,” Brooks said. “Her energy is contagious, and she has a passion for the game. That shows in the progression of her coaching career.”