Varsity Basketball Competes in McGuire Classic

By Nick Byrne '11

In December 2014, Coach Joe McGrane led the varsity basketball team to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the first annual “McGuire Classic,” a four-team high school invitational tournament honoring the 50th anniversary of Al McGuire’s final season coaching at Belmont Abbey College.

McGuire, a New York native whose 20 years as a college head coach and 23 years as a television analyst landed him in the Basketball Hall of Fame, coached at the Abbey from 1957 to 1964 before leaving for Marquette.

At Marquette, his teams compiled a 295-80 record and won 20 or more games for 11 consecutive seasons. In 1977, Marquette won the NCAA tournament, defeating Dean Smith’s North Carolina Tar Heels for the title. It was his last game as a coach. His overall record was 404-144.

This year, the McGuire Classic was hosted by Cardinal Spellman in the Bronx. The Knights (6-2) defeated Cardinal Gibbons from Raleigh, North Carolina, 59-47 in game 1 and fell to a strong Charlotte Catholic squad in the second and final game of the tournament.
Coach McGrane was proud of the way his team performed against the two highly competitive teams from the Tar Heel State, and he looks forward to the rest of the season as his team continues to gel.

“We play some of the top teams in the league over the next week in a half, so we’re going to be tested,” Coach McGrane said. “The last couple of games our organization hasn’t been good. Hopefully we become a little more cohesive as the season moves forward.”

The Knights take on Cardinal Spellman on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the gym.