Re: Nick Stafford -- America East Forum

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Date Posted: 18:44:08 02/25/03 Tue
Author: BUfan2
Subject: Re: Nick Stafford
In reply to: Will 's message, "Nick Stafford" on 18:26:15 02/25/03 Tue

>According to Rivals, Central Conn St., George Mason,
>Virginia Commonwealth, and Maine are currently the top
>schools for Nick Stafford, 6'8 forward from Worcester
>Academy.
>
>His team competes in the NEPSAC playoffs in the coming
>week. Bridgton Academy is the #1 seed.

There was an article about him yesterday in the Worcester T&G. Here it is if you are interested:

Stafford key to WA hopes in tourney

Jeff Goodman
CORRESPONDENT

Nick Stafford had to be patient for playing time at Worcester Academy.

When his father woke him up on the first day of school to begin his junior year at Springfield Central High, Nick Stafford decided he didn't want to go.

It wasn't nerves. In fact, his confidence had never been higher. He was coming off a summer in which he saw his name listed among the elite players in the country.

Eventually, Stafford rolled out of bed and headed to school for the second half of the day, but he came home even more adamant about leaving than when he left that day.

"I was doing all right in school, but that wasn't really challenging, either," Stafford said. "Basketball-wise, the competition wasn't up to par. I really had nothing to prove."

Nick and his father, Al, jumped in the car and drove to Worcester for a mini-tour of schools, which included Holy Name, St. John's and Worcester Academy.

"My mother works in the area at WPI, I was born in Worcester and lived here for a few years," Stafford said. "I came here and met Coach (Mo) Cassara and it seemed cool, but at the same time, I still wasn't ready to go to school here."

However, Stafford spoke with Worcester native Sam Kaplan, who has played for the Hilltoppers since his freshman season. The pair knew each other from their AAU days.

He was finally persuaded to come when he heard that another player, Steve Hailey, would be in a similar situation, having to repeat his sophomore season for a combination of academics and athletics.

Now it's Stafford, Kaplan and Hailey that help make up the nucleus of Worcester Academy's best hope to win its first New England prep crown in 15 years.

The Hilltoppers (22-4) earned the fifth seed in the NEPSAC Class A tournament and will face No. 4 St. Thomas More in the first round Wednesday night at Endicott College in Beverly.

But it appeared as though Cassara might be without Stafford after the 6-foot-7, 205-pound senior tore ligaments in his left foot on Jan. 25 and was feared lost for the season. The soft-spoken Stafford was down at times, but didn't stay that way for long.

"He can make a bad situation seem all right," Hailey said. "That's why we call him Deacon Nick. He's like a preacher's son. He's just an all-around great kid who does all the right things."

"I was having a pretty good year and then came the injury," Stafford said. "I didn't think it was anything serious at first, but then the doctor told me I could be out for six weeks. I wanted to get back so bad for the tournament because it's our time to win a championship. Not just for the school, but for me, Steve and Sam. We've all been here for the last three years."

Stafford returned to the court, much to the surprise of his teammates, Wednesday and scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 16 minutes in a rout over Cushing Academy. He followed it up with 12 points and seven boards in a victory against Northfield Mount Hermon Friday night.

"I don't think we really realized how much we missed Nick until he was gone," Cassara said. "We lost him and we lost three of our next four games."

Worcester Academy hadn't lost consecutive games since Cassara took the helm four years ago.

Stafford doesn't regret deciding to leave Springfield, but that's not to say he doesn't wonder what could have been if he had stuck around at Central. It took him three years at Worcester just to get back to double-figures in scoring, something he accomplished as a sophomore in Springfield.

"Nick made a tough decision three years ago when he decided to come here and he's had a tough road here," Cassara said. "But he's never complained and he's really matured as a player and a person. He's had to sit and wait his turn behind some great players."

"I was young and didn't know what to expect when I first got here," Stafford said. "At first, it was tough playing with older guys and just fitting in. Every year has been an adjustment, especially last season because we had so many seniors going on to play Division I basketball and I was coming off the bench."

Stafford will follow them and his roommate of three years, Hailey, to the D-1 ranks after this season. A wide variety of schools from UMass and Providence to Central Connecticut State, Virginia Commonwealth and Maine have all continued to evaluate Stafford.

Right now, Stafford is focused on making sure that Worcester Academy takes the final step after falling last season to New Hampton Prep and then-star Rashad McCants, who is now a standout freshman at North Carolina, in the title game.

"I'm not sure that there are many better athletes for a guy his size in the entire country," Cassara said. "At times, he's dominant."

But that's been the knock on Stafford. He needs to play with more passion and intensity and become more consistent.

"This is my time to show what I can do," Stafford said. "I'm ready for it. It's time for us to win one, not just as a team but also as a school. We have the team to do it and I'm just glad I could get back in time to be a part of it."

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