By Mike Donovan, BSU Men's Basketball Associate Head Coach
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- When the 2018-20919 college basketball season tips off this November, two recent standouts for Coach Joe Farroba will be making their college coaching debuts on opposite benches.
On Thursday November 8th in Springfield, Massachusetts – the "Birthplace of Basketball" – Western New England University will face off against Springfield College, an NCAA Division III Final Four participant last March.
On the bench as a Graduate Assistant to long-time Springfield Coach Charlie Brock will be Patrick McGuiness '17, a two-time Bears' Captain and the 2017 Male Lee Harrington Award-winner at BSU. Pat, who hails from New City, New York, is pursuing his Masters in Physical Education at the iconic P.E. institution.
On the opposing bench, assisting Head Coach Colin Tabb, will be Joseph Carty '18, Pat's teammate and a two-time All-MASCAC performer for Coach Farroba. Joe, a native of Natick, Massachusetts, also served as a team captain last season, leading the Bears to their sixth NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in the past dozen years.
Both former Bears have chosen to enter the coaching arena as a profession with slightly different jumping-off points. Who knows…..down the road one of them could return to lead the "Bears of the Hardwood" at some point in the future.