Published: November 15, 2008 11:31 pm      

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Garrison makes local debut in NU opener

All Rob Garrison has ever wanted to do was help the team win.

Blessed with enough basketball talent to earn a Division I scholarship, Garrison was a valuable roleplayer — but not a star — for the Niagara Falls Wolverines team that won a state championship in 2005.

Months after his high school career ended, Garrison was set to go to prep school in order to raise his recruiting stock when Connecticut, a team that won two national championships during Garrison’s teen years, invited him to fill a void at point guard.

He played major minutes early on as a freshman, helping the Huskies start 11-0. But UConn had what it felt were better prospects, Marcus Williams and A.J. Price, serving suspensions, and when they returned, Garrison’s playing time dried up.

Connecticut struggled the following season, going 17-14 and failing to qualify for the NCAA tournament. And Garrison barely played at all.

“I wasn’t upset that I didn’t get a chance to play, but I felt that I didn’t get the opportunity to prove that I can play, like some of my teammates,” Garrison recalled. “I felt that I was prepared, and I was never given a chance to show my preparation.”

So Garrison requested and obtained a release from coach Jim Calhoun, and elected to transfer. At the time, he had no interest in coming home to finish his career. But after talking with Tim Winn, the former LaSalle High School star who picked St. Bonaventure over Syracuse, and making a pact with Bilal Benn, a player looking to transfer out of Villanova, Garrison decided he wanted to be a Niagara Purple Eagle.

Players transfer out of elite conferences like the Big East into smaller leagues like the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference every year. Often, they are expected to be the best player on their new team.

And Garrison has added pressure playing at home. He’ll make his local debut at 7 p.m. today when Niagara opens a new season against Towson in the Gallagher Center.

“The magnifying glass is on me even more so now that I’m here,” he said. “And I’m going to take that as a positive. People say there’s a lot of pressure. They say pressure breaks pipes. I say, pressure makes diamonds.”

But Garrison hopes the local community remembers the way he fit in at NFHS, and doesn’t expect him to be a star on Monteagle Ridge.

“I hope they don’t expect me to come out and shoot every time, and score 30 points every night. I don’t have to do that here. I’m surrounded by great players,” he said.

And most of those players are also guards. In addition to Benn, a former point guard who, at 6-foot-5, will be thrust into the frontcourt at times this season, the Purple Eagles return an outstanding backcourt tandem in Anthony Nelson and Rob Garrison.

But coach Joe Mihalich firmly believes in playing his best players as much as possible. So Garrison didn’t have to compete with Nelson, Lewis or Benn for a starting job. When the ball goes up tonight, all four are expected to be on the floor.

“That was a big deciding factor in me coming here,” Garrison said. “I like playing with other guards. It’s a lot easier and it’s more fun to play with players who can think the game as fast as you, and play in constant motion.”

Nelson, who had 149 assists last year, the second-most ever by a Niagara freshman, said he’s looking forward to playing with Garrison.

“Rob makes it so much easier on me,” he said. “We’re interchangeable. Whoever gets it, just pushes it up the floor.”

Added Lewis, Niagara’s No. 1 scoring option, “With three of us out there handling the rock, we shouldn’t ever have a problem making plays.”

GAME NIGHT