Eight senior boys basketball players commit to university teams
The labour disruption that shut down high school sports this year was particularly untimely for Grammar’s senior boys basketball team, which fielded the strongest squad in the school’s history but was denied a chance to compete for a provincial championship banner.
But through the scheduling efforts of coach Tim McGarrigle and parents’ fundraising initiatives, the team hit the road throughout the winter and got to play a significant schedule, posting a record of 20-2 in the Maritimes and in Toronto.
Perhaps even more impressive is that all eight of the Gryphons Grade 12 players have secured spots on university teams for next year.
“The biggest challenge was finding playing time, meaningful playing time that’s suited to their skills because all eight of them could have started on any other team we’ve had,” said McGarrigle.
A four-game trip to Toronto provided a flurry of recruiting contacts, with coaches from half a dozen Ontario schools travelling to watch Grammar and make their pitches. Atlantic university coaches were in the stands for each of the team’s games in New Brunswick and PEI.
“It’s flattering to know you have some kids that university coaches are interested in, no question about it, but for me, having coached at that level I could bring a different perspective to the kids. I see that as my role in the situation, to help them keep stress out of their lives in terms of coaches calling them all the time, combined with the (academic) workload and all the other things,” McGarrigle said.
Team co-captain Vernelle Johnson was the first to make a decision, accepting an offer from UPEI, where he will study kinesiology.
Riley and Conor Foran made visits to Western and Waterloo, but eventually signed with Atlantic University Sport (AUS) champions the Dalhousie Tigers, where they will be playing alongside Grammar alumni Sven Stammberger’12.
Ben Stephens secured the interest that all 6’8” players who can make three-pointers get, which is to say considerable. Ottawa coach recruited Ben intensely, but in the end he decided on Wilfrid Laurier University, where he will enroll in the Economics program.
Will Scholes played so well during a game in Fredericton that the coach from Saint Thomas University (STU) took him aside at half time to talk about the program at STU, but Will has decided to throw in his lot with the University of King’s College. He will be joined there by teammates, Will and Campbell Colpitts, who both had a long talk with the Memorial University coach at the Final 8 university tournament last March, and who had also been recruited all winter by Mount Allison before deciding on King’s University in Halifax.
Connor Keefe kept coaches waiting the longest, and in keeping with his lofty academic average, he narrowed his choice to top schools McGill, University of Toronto and Queen’s, before accepting a lucrative offer from Queen’s. Connor’s spot on the team is accompanied with the D&R Sobey Atlantic Scholarship, valued at $80,000, and offered to six outstanding high school students from Atlantic Canada to attend the undergraduate Commerce program at the Smith School of Business.
Halifax Grammar School is the leading independent, co-educational day school in Atlantic Canada. From Junior Primary through Grade 12, the Halifax Grammar School is an environment where passionate teachers challenge students to develop confidence through independence, where coaches and advisors encourage students to pursue excellence through effort, and where a community fosters in students a lasting commitment to helping others.