This experience hasn’t come without its bumps. As Northwestern battled injuries, Spencer has had to learn how to play like a true point guard and lead a team on which he’s both the oldest player and one of its newest. After four years playing attack for the Greyhounds, he’s back to balancing both sides of the ball and playing defense on every possession.
And though the playing surfaces may be different, there aren’t too many differences between Spencer the basketball player and Spencer the lacrosse player.
“His role on the lacrosse field was perfect for the transition that he’s made in basketball,” Carcaterra said. “He was playing from behind the cage in lacrosse, seeing everyone and setting up plays, and now he’s in front of the basket. He sees everything develop.”
Spencer still carries the same competitiveness and confidence that he brought to the lacrosse field.
Kelly Amonte Hiller was part of the group that watched Spencer’s workout on his first visit to campus. A seven-time champion as Northwestern’s women’s lacrosse coach, she knew how to spot a good player. And she saw one in Spencer.
“It was the presence he brought,” Amonte Hiller said. “That confidence transcends [sports], and when you get that level of confidence, you bring it into other areas of your life. That’s why Northwestern really wanted to buy into what he was about.”
The rest of the lacrosse world has been following along every step of the way. Loyola coach Charley Toomey said he’s watched more college basketball this season than any year before. Spencer texts nearly every day with Loyola assistant Matt Dwan.
Spencer’s parents, Donna and Bruce, have been splitting time traveling around the country to catch Pat’s games and those of his younger brother, Cam, a freshman guard on Loyola’s basketball team.
A group of Loyola lacrosse players and coaches made the trip down I-95 from Baltimore to College Park to see Spencer and the Wildcats play at Maryland on Feb. 18. Spencer assured them he would be watching when the Greyhounds opened their 2020 season with a February gauntlet that included games against Virginia, Johns Hopkins, Rutgers and Towson.
He’s still known as the lacrosse star wherever he goes. His highlights still make the rounds on the lacrosse internet — only now, instead of fast-break goals, they’re full of fast-break dunks — and he’s happy to still represent the sport that made him a star.
“To grow [lacrosse] in any way that I can help, it’s obviously something I’m proud and willing to do,” Spencer said. “Hopefully, it’ll bring some more exposure to the game.”
What comes next for Spencer is another question. He insists that he hasn’t yet thought long term.
Those around Spencer believe that his future will involve basketball. Anecdotes from his former coaches emphasize the genuine love he has for the game.
Spencer often ate lunch in the stands of Loyola’s Reitz Arena, watching the basketball team practice. He spent his free time in college on the sidelines at Boys’ Latin as a volunteer basketball coach. As his Northwestern teammates tuned in to the NFL playoffs in January, Spencer watched NBA highlights on his phone.
“I’d love to selfishly have that opportunity to coach him one more time,” said Toomey, who is also an assistant for Team USA ahead of the 2022 world championship, “but I think basketball is his absolute dream at the moment.”
Pursuing a professional career in the U.S. or in Europe? Coaching college basketball? Making a return to lacrosse? Nothing’s off the table right now.
“I do want to pursue basketball, but I want to see which opportunities present themselves and what I’m able to capitalize on the most,” Spencer said. “I love both sports. I really love basketball, and it’s something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life. But I think it’d be great to have options.”
There’s no telling exactly what’s next for Pat Spencer. But one thing is for sure: He’ll continue to be driven by his passion for the game — no matter which sport it is.
“When people were talking to me about him making the jump to Division I basketball and there were a lot of naysayers, I told everyone I talked to: Never tell Pat Spencer there’s something he can’t do,” said Cliff Rees, his former basketball coach at Boys’ Latin. “And I would never bet against him doing something he wants to do.”