When Indiana University closed its doors to Ron Patterson, Syracuse University opened a window.

Patterson, a 6-3 guard from Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, Ind., was supposed to be a freshman at Indiana this fall. But after attending summer school at IU, officials at the school denied him admission.

“He was already eligible with the NCAA,’’ Chris Hawkins, Patterson’s AAU coach, said Saturday. “At Indiana, there’s an extra procedure when they look at everything, they can be yes or no on whether they want you in school.’’

Indiana’s decision was met with some skepticism. Refusing to admit Patterson allowed Indiana to get under the NCAA’s 13 scholarship limit.

“He had a qualifying SAT score and the corresponding GPA,’’ Hawkins said. “It was just a numbers thing. He just decided to go ahead and move on.’’

Patterson moved onto Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., where he caught the attention of Syracuse assistant Gerry McNamara.

Syracuse’s recruitment of Patterson was like a speed-date. Syracuse offered Patterson a scholarship less than two weeks ago. He and his family visited the SU campus this weekend.

On Saturday, Patterson accepted Syracuse’s offer. And suddenly, everything that had happened at Indiana seemed to have a purpose.

“Carmelo Anthony is his favorite player. Has been since he was in the 8th grade,’’ Hawkins, who coached Patterson’s Indiana Elite 1 team, said. Patterson also played for another AAU outfit called Elite Team Indiana. “If he ever had a chance to go to Syracuse, he would, but he didn’t have the chance until now.’’

Patterson averaged 18.5 points, six rebounds, four assists and 2.5 steals as a senior at Broad Ripple. He turned down DePaul, Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio State when he initially chose Indiana.

Providence, Boston College, Xavier, Connecticut, Miami and SMU have been recruiting Patterson since he arrived at Brewster.

“He really liked Xavier and Providence and a couple other schools,’’ Hawkins said. “But he really wanted to go see Syracuse.’’

Patterson is the fourth player in the Class of 2013 to commit to the Orange. He joins Tyler Ennis, a 6-3 point guard from St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, B.J. Johnson, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Lower Merion High School in Ardmore, Pa., and Chinonso Obokoh, a 6-10 center from Bishop Kearney High School in Rochester.

Patterson, who has a 6-11 wingspan, was ranked as the No. 25 shooting guard in the 2012 Class by ESPN. He was ranked No. 131 overall in the class by Rivals. com.

“Ron is an athletic guard who has shot the ball very well from the perimeter this fall,’’ Jason Smith, the Brewster Academy coach, said in an email. “He's an excellent defender and has tremendous length. I imagine his length would be very effective and beneficial in Syracuse's zone defense.’’

Post-Standard sports writer Donna Ditota contributed to this report.

