CACC Athletics :POST'S SHICK A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON EAGLES

POST'S SHICK A POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON EAGLES

January 25, 2007

BY MARK JAFFEE

WATERBURY -- Gary Shick is torn, divided between a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel abroad for 10 days in March or remaining with his Post University men's basketball team.

It's a hard decision for the senior captain and starting point guard, especially when you consider he's already prepaid $2,500 for the trip to France and Spain during the school's spring vacation from March 12-19.

Should his surging Division II team win the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Tournament and gain an NCAA Tournament automatic bid, Shick would miss the most important games of his four-year career.

"That would mean we are pretty deep in the tournament," said Shick. "That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if I should miss the trip. Maybe I'll be able to get a later flight."

But should the Eagles advance to the their first NCAA Regional Tournament March 10-13 and to the Elite Eight, set for March 21-24 in Springfield, Mass., Shick will need to forget about going overseas.

Thinking ahead, Shick took out an insurance policy for the trip.

"Hopefully, I could get most of my money back," said Shick, 22, of Bloomfield.

Until then, Shick has more pressing issues as the leader of the Eagles, winners of seven straight games and vying for first place in the CACC (9-3 CACC, 11-8 overall) after their 85-73 win over Nyack College Wednesday.

"We're all on the same page," said Shick. "We have been playing well, but I am not going to take any of the credit, though."

While Shick is low-key about his role, Post head coach Mike Donnelly is more definite in his opinion of Shick, the first recruit in Donnelly's four-year tenure. Shick's influence is more valuable than his statistics of 7.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, the coach said.

"Gary is the first kid since I've been here as a coach who I consider an extension of me on the floor," said Donnelly "Without him, we are not where we are now."

As much as Donnelly liked Shick, there have been times in his career when he was relegated to the bench, his coach describing him at one point as a liability on defense.

"I had him on a short leash and pulled him out of games over the past three seasons," said Donnelly. "I never let him get away with anything. He's the type of kid who needs confidence, but I asked him to be tougher and he battled through those times."

Shick handled it by never missing a practice, a meeting or weight-lifting session and, perhaps most of all, by never sulking on the bench over a lack of playing time.

As a freshman in 2004, Shick had DNP (did not play) next to his name in the box score for the Eagles' CACC Tournament final loss to Bloomfield College.

Shick called that a turning point in his career, noting that others deserved to be on the court, not him.

"Gary never made an excuse," Donnelly said.

All he did was become determined to get better.

"I knew that I needed to become consistent and needed to get physically stronger every day," said Shick.

He changed his workout habits and became serious as a sophomore, and it carried over last year.

"You can't take a day off," said Shick.

Donnelly could see the results. So could the rest of the Post athletic staff, which selected him as the 2006 Raymond LaMoy Student-Athlete Award winner. The award goes to the person who shows compassion for others, commitment to academic achievement and community, and is a role model exemplifying the spirit of honesty and integrity.

Shick, a computer systems information major, was stunned by the honor as well as by being named team captain, a role he cherishes.

"I love being the leader and having the ball in my hands and keeping everyone under control," he said. "If we have a problem, my job is to help fix it and solve it fast."

He can probably even handle his spring break dilemma with the same ease.