Former R.I. hoop stars Garrick, Connor help Bridgewater St. to NCAA tourney

By Mike Szostak, Journal Sports Writer

They were second-team All-State as high-school seniors. One attended junior college for two years, the other prep school for one. They spent a year playing Division II basketball at colleges about 15 miles apart in Massachusetts.

So where are Stace Garrick of West Warwick and Corey Connor of Providence now? Leading Bridgewater State College into the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament Thursday night at home against Saint Joseph's of Maine.

"They are both impact players," BSC coach Joe Farroba said Wednesday. They are also roommates.

Garrick, the nephew of former West Warwick and University of Rhode Island hero and NBA veteran Tom Garrick, is a 6-2, 210-pound guard who played the last 16 games after becoming academically eligible in January. The 20-6 Bears are 14-1 since he joined the team. He is averaging 11.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game coming off the bench. He scored 17 points against Salem State in the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference final and 17 against Westfield State in the semifinal.

"Stace is a special player. He's a scholarship player, a player who is good enough to be at the next level," Farroba said. But for Bridgewater, "He is the quintessential sixth man. We get a lot of energy from him."

Connor, son of former Classical coach and current Mt. Pleasant assistant coach Tom Connor, is a 6-1, 180-pound shooting guard who started the season as a reserve and is ending it in the starting lineup. He has played in every game and is averaging 8.5 points. He buried seven of his eight three-point attempts and scored 23 points in 25 minutes against Westfield. He chipped in five points in the championship game.

"He was phenomenal in the semifinal game," Farroba said.

How Garrick and Connor ended up at Bridgewater State is a tale of big basketball dreams crashing head-on with reality. Garrick went from West Warwick to Dean College in Franklin, Mass. He played on a team that won the NJCAA Region 21 championship and lost to Lackawanna in the Northeast District final. He scored 34 points in the 2005 regional semifinal. Farroba met Garrick at Dean when he was recruiting Adam Rose of Harwich.

Garrick received a basketball scholarship from UMass Lowell and spent the 2006 season with the River Hawks. They went to the NCAA Division II Tournament and reached the Sweet 16. Garrick was the third man off the bench in the tournament.

He ran into academic trouble and did not return for the 2007 season and also sat out the 2008 season. Knowing his Dean teammate Rose was at Bridgewater, he contacted Farroba and enrolled at BSC as a part-time student. He went full-time last fall, got his GPA up to the required 2.0, became eligible and joined the Bears bench brigade.

"He has accepted his role beautifully," Farroba said.

Garrick knows he squandered an opportunity and is grateful for this chance to play.

"I should have done enough to play the whole year, but things happen. . . . Grateful? Yeah, I'm in debt. Coach didn't have to allow me to be on the team for half a semester. Freshmen could have been soaking up these minutes," he said.

At 23, Garrick is savoring every minute of his last college season. Coming off the bench doesn't bother him.

"It's definitely different from starting three years in college and high school, but I play as hard as I can for the minutes I get. I have no reason to pout over things I can't control. My outlook on things is sometimes different from the younger players. I have a different mindset in the position I'm in. It's not a bad thing. I'm not mad at all," he said.

Garrick might not be where he is today if not for his mother Stacey's brother, Tom.

"He is the reason I know how to play basketball. I grew up watching him. He pretty much taught me what to do and how to do it. Otherwise I wouldn't be as good as I am. It's because of him. Not everybody is lucky enough to have an NBA uncle to play in the backyard with. I'm fortunate he is my uncle," he said.

Connor played at Classical High School and spent the 2007 season at Cushing Academy and the 2008 campaign at Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. He appeared in only three games for a total of 10 minutes, the fewest on the team.

A Cushing teammate, Judah Jackson, had gone to Bridgewater, and Connor met with Farroba last spring.

"He transferred, and here we are," the coach said. "That's pretty much what Division III is. Playing time and economics can make a kid transfer."

Connor has started 16 games. He is shooting 44 percent from three-point range, 47 percent from the floor and 81 percent from the free throw line.

"He can definitely fill it up. He gets those teams out of the zone real quick," Garrick said with a laugh. "And he's smart defensively. He's not a great athlete, but he makes smart plays. As a team, we're lucky to have him. He contributes."

Connor has two more years to fill it up for the Bears, who if they beat Saint Joseph's will travel to Middlebury for a second-round game Saturday. Garrick plans to finish his degree requirement next fall and then try playing basketball abroad.

"We'll see how that works out," he said confidently. "If not, then I'll teach and coach."