Gulls Impress Doc Rivers at TD Garden’s Hoop Dreams

BOSTON, Mass. – Anyone who loves basketball and has spent time in the Boston area has dreamed about playing on the famous parquet floor at the Garden. On Thursday, September 13th, fifteen Endicott College students had the experience of a lifetime doing just that and meeting the man who led Boston to its 17^th world championship. 

The Gulls were participants at the second annual Hoop Dreams event, run by Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), a community group dedicated to provide services and community development for low-income Greater Boston residents. ABCD is the largest non-profit human services agency in New England and helps out more than 100,000 people through a network of neighborhood-based organizations. 

Participants at Hoop Dreams, which included a host of corporations and community groups along with Endicott’s contingent, had the chance to change in the TD Garden locker rooms, warm-up and play on the famous parquet floor, meet and take pictures with Boston Celtics Head Coach Doc Rivers, and enjoy a reception dinner in the Legends Club, which also included a question and answer session with Rivers and Hall of Fame journalist Bob Ryan. 

Endicott’s players took to the Garden floor for a half-court pickup game of basketball, where some of the school’s best student-athletes were on display. The Gulls who competed in the event included three members of Endicott’s women’s basketball team: Samantha Crough, Ashley Walenta, and Jen McBrien, and four members of the reigning Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) champion men’s basketball team: Nick Maglio, Matt Kneece, Bennett Knowlton and Andre Makris. 

Joining those players were Endicott students Trevor Grace, Garrett McHugh, James Kapothanasis, Tom Shea, Sam Bowen, Eddie Danek, Nick Mazzotta and Greg Jacques. 

“I was incredibly proud of the way in which our student-athletes represented Endicott,” said intramurals coordinator Garett Seney, who was one of the organizers of the event and helped coach the squad in their game. “They performed very well on the court and conducted themselves in a way that drew high praise from some very impressive people.” 

Seney helped to choose the Endicott team, which included running a basketball shooting competition to decide who earned the coveted spots. Joining Seney on the bench were two Endicott varsity assistant coaches – Seth Stantial of the men’s team and Jeff Swirka from the woman’s program. 

Endicott indeed did shine on the court, beating their opponents 81-35 and getting offensive and defensive contributions up and down their lineup. The Gulls even impressed some of the event’s star guests. Bob Ryan, who has spent 44 years as a sports journalist, many of them as the Boston Celtics Beat Writer, called forward Samantha Crough “the best shooter on the floor.” 

Doc Rivers, who spent some time on the Endicott bench, was impressed with the brand of basketball played by the Gulls and offered compliments on the athleticism and character of the group of Gulls. Rivers even stopped the action to marvel at an alley-oop thrown down by reigning CCC Rookie of the Year Andre Makris, jokingly commiserating with Endicott’s opponents in the difficult test they faced.

Check out the new photo gallery from Endicott's trip to the Hoop Dreams Event.