NORTH ANDOVER - Gerry Corcoran never thought of his grandfather as a celebrity until two weeks before he passed away.
Corcoran and his beloved grandpa - former columnist Will McDonough - were on their way to a high school holiday tourney game in Chelsea when the duo got lost en route to the event.
When they stopped and asked strangers for directions, those strangers were star-struck in the presence of McDonough.
"The guys (who gave the directions) said 'Holy Cow it is Will McDonough' and started asking him all kinds of questions," said Corcoran, a junior who transferred to Merrimack last season after a one-year stint at Division 1 Quinnipiac.
"They wouldn't stop asking him questions," added Corcoran. "I said to him, 'Do you get this all the time?' and he said 'yes.'
"I always knew my grandfather was famous, but it hit me then."
To Corcoran, Will McDonough was simply "Gumpy", the name he referred to his grandfather as.
"When he wasn't traveling, he was at my high school games for support," said Corcoran, a former standout at Norwell High School where he scored over 2,200 points before spending a year at Worcester Academy. Corcoran said that if his grandfather were alive today he would have, some how, played up Merrimack College in one of his columns.
Corcoran and his beloved grandpa - former columnist Will McDonough - were on their way to a high school holiday tourney game in Chelsea when the duo got lost en route to the event.
When they stopped and asked strangers for directions, those strangers were star-struck in the presence of McDonough.
"The guys (who gave the directions) said 'Holy Cow it is Will McDonough' and started asking him all kinds of questions," said Corcoran, a junior who transferred to Merrimack last season after a one-year stint at Division 1 Quinnipiac.
"They wouldn't stop asking him questions," added Corcoran. "I said to him, 'Do you get this all the time?' and he said 'yes.'
"I always knew my grandfather was famous, but it hit me then."
To Corcoran, Will McDonough was simply "Gumpy", the name he referred to his grandfather as.
"When he wasn't traveling, he was at my high school games for support," said Corcoran, a former standout at Norwell High School where he scored over 2,200 points before spending a year at Worcester Academy. Corcoran said that if his grandfather were alive today he would have, some how, played up Merrimack College in one of his columns.
An avid fan of high school and collegiate sports in general, McDonough had a special love for basketball and had contacted his grandson to take him to high school games right through the end of his life.
Will McDonough passed away in January of 2003. Corcoran and the Warriors will open the regular season tomorrow night at C.W. Post (7 p.m.). Merrimack opens its home season Nov. 26 vs. Southern Connecticut (3 p.m.).
"We have everything we need on this team to be successful," said Corcoran, who started his collegiate career at Division 1 Quinnipiac.
A child's dream
Corcoran led a charmed childhood as his grandfather took him around from sporting event to sporting event with his biggest thrill being the Patriot's Super Bowl appearance in 1997 against the Packers. "That was great," said Corcoran, who scored 3.8 points per game for the Warriors last season. Corcoran remembers walking down to meet his grandfather on the morning of the Super Bowl and saw him having breakfast with former Patriot's coach Bill Parcells.
Corcoran opted not to join the duo for breakfast because he felt that Parcells was "the most intimidating person that I had ever met."
Looking to improve on last season
Corcoran left Quinnipiac for an opportunity to play more and to play closer to home. Things weren't working out at the Hamden, Conn., school and he desired to play at the Division 2 level.
"(Division 1) was completely different from what I thought it would be," said Corcoran. "I was too far away from home and I wanted to come back to the area."
Corcoran will look for more playing minutes this year on a team that was hit hard with two key injuries - both to starters Micky Burtnyk and Olatungie Lightfoot-Taylor.
In his first season at Merrimack, Corcoran played just 11 minutes per game and scored an average of 3.8 points.
"I was and I wasn't disappointed with last season," said Corcoran. "I was disappointed because I felt I could have contributed more, but I was happy at how the season ended."
The 6-5 forward was a key component in Merrimack's 63-60 win over Franklin Pierce, in the opening round of the NE-10 tourney. Playing 27 minutes, Corcoran scored 10 points and had four steals to secure the win.
"He could be the key to our season," said Merrimack head coach Bert Hammel. "He is a talented player who sees the game well. He needs to work a little harder and commit to the game."
With Merrimack thin on veteran talent, Corcoran may have found the perfect opportunity to excel.
Merrimack College
Coach: Bert Hammel (27th year, 381-358)
2005 record: 15-14 (lost in the Northeast-10 quarterfinals)
Coach's comments: "We went from possibly starting four seniors to now starting two (with season-ending injuries to Lawrence's Olatungie Lightfoot-Taylor and Micky Burtnyk). We will obviously be young and, at times, we will have two freshmen and two sophomores on the court. We have to team rebound because we are not going to have a big-time force inside. We will be more perimeter-oriented. With our lack of numbers, we are going to slow down the pace. I love the chemistry on this team."
Odds and ends: Rookie point guard Darren Duncan should make an immediate impact to the Warriors. Duncan comes to Merrimack from Christ the King high school in Briarwood, N.Y. ... Former Central Catholic graduate Tom Sipsey, who joined Merrimack as a walk-on four years ago, has earned a starting spot for Merrimack. The Salem, N.H. resident will play small forward for the Warriors. ... Freshman Jared Brownlee joins the Warriors this season. His sister, Ashley, is a junior on the Merrimack women's basketball team. ... The Warriors played three exhibition games against Division 1 opponents - University of Rhode Island, Boston University and University of New Hampshire. Merrimack dropped all three games. .. The Warriors will play in the Bryant Invitational on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30. ... Lightfoot-Taylor averaged 7.4 points and 6.0 rebounds last year and Burtnyk averaged 5.2 ppg. Both will return next year. ... Former Timberlane star Jeff Hansbury joins the Warriors this season. ... Merrimack is picked 13th (out of 15) in this year's Northeast-10 coaches poll.
Returning starters (1): Kenny Jones, Sr., G, 6-1, 185
Injured for the season (2): Olatungie Lightfoot-Taylor, Sr., F, 6-5, 200; Micky Burtnyk, Sr., G, 5-10, 180.
Returning lettermen: (5): Tom Sipsey, Sr., G, 6-2, 185; Gerry Corcoran, Jr., G/F, 6-5, 215; David Kennedy, Soph., G, 6-4, 170; Chiedozie Offiah, Soph., F, 6-4, 225
Promising newcomers (6): Jamie Smith, Soph., G, 5-9, 175; Jeff Hansbury, Fr., G, 5-8, 150; Carlos Brown, Fr., G, 5-10, 155; Darren Duncan, Fr., G, 5-10, 165; Craig Woehnker, Fr., G, 6-3, 190; Brian Caira, Fr., F, 6-1, 200; Chris Lopiano, Fr., G, 6-0, 170
Captains: Kenny Jones and Tom Sipsey
Assistants: Joey Gallo and John Miller
Opener: Wednesday, at C.W. Post, 7 p.m.
Returning statistical leaders: Kenny Jones 13.9 ppg, 2.1 assists; Gerry Corcoran 3.8 ppg, Tom Sipsey 1.7 ppg.
