NCAA goal for Tunnicliff
Sydney River’s Coby Tunnicliff working toward ultimate goal of playing in NCAA
SYDNEY — Coby Tunnicliff knows where he wants to be in the future.
The Sydney River product can envision himself playing for a NCAA Division 1 basketball team in the United States.
While some may consider such an ambition only a dream, Tunnicliff isn’t one of them. He’s proven his commitment to reaching his goal by making the move to New Brunswick and joining the Rothesay Netherwood School program this year.
“The way the players and coaches push me, I feel this is 100 per cent the place to give me the best opportunity to reach my goals and dreams,” said Tunnicliff.
“All of the people here are always so motivating, and I know this program will be able to take me to the next level and where I want to be in basketball.”
The 17-year-old first learned of the program while attending a Basketball Nova Scotia provincial camp where he met the Rothesay head coach Damian Gay.
“Coach was doing a powerpoint presentation for the group of players about the school and I immediately knew it was for me,” said Tunnicliff, who’s currently living in a dorm on campus at the New Brunswick school.
“Cape Breton is amazing for basketball, but I wanted a different push and a different motivation, and I figured here would be the best.”
As a child, Tunnicliff was involved in various sports including basketball, hockey, soccer, football and taekwondo. However, his passion was always basketball.
He began his basketball career at Sydney River Elementary School. He later went on to play for Malcolm Munroe before joining Riverview High School in Coxheath.
During his middle school years, Tunnicliff became involved with Basketball Cape Breton, a program he credits to helping him get where he is today in prep school.
“In under-12, I had Steve Fifield as a coach and I remember we had four-hour practices on the weekend,” said Tunnicliff. “It sounds ridiculous, but every kid that ended up practising with him or playing for him improved.
“He cared for us and he put us through amazing workouts to help us improve — even after that there are so many coaches that have helped me get better in the sport.”
Tunnicliff played three years with the Riverview High School program and found success along the way.
During his first year with the team, the then Grade 9 student was named the Cape Breton High School Basketball League rookie of the year. The following year, he helped the school capture the Highland Region title and was named the league’s most valuable player.
Last year, during his Grade 11 season, Riverview claimed its second-straight Highland Region title and advanced to the provincial championship. Tunnicliff was named to the league’s first all-star team.
“It was a great experience,” said Tunnicliff. “I made close connections with childhood friends that I continue to be friends with even after I moved away. I can’t forget all the great coaches who taught me valuable lessons as well.”
Along with local basketball, Tunnicliff has also represented Nova Scotia, suiting up for the province at the under-15 and under-17 national tournaments.
“The feeling of playing in nationals was cool for me, but it’s the same feeling I get at Rothesay,” said Tunnicliff. “Everyone was competitive and pushing each other so it’s very relatable.”
Although Tunnicliff has only been in New Brunswick for three-and-a-half months, coach Gay has seen the sixfoot-one, 160-pound point guard progress as a player.
“It’s not really necessarily in the skill department because I think he had the skill, but I’ve seen progress in his dog-mentality, which is needed to be able to compete at this level,” said Gay, who’s originally from Guysborough County.
“He’s a very nice kid and the unfortunate reality of this level of competition is that you can’t be nice all the time, you have to be a dog and that’s what he has to learn and he’s in the process of that.”
Gay had a first-hand opportunity to see Tunnicliff in action last season when Rothesay faced Riverview in a tournament is Sussex, N.B.
“He was definitely a leader without question,” said Gay. “I saw an exceptional talent, a great kid and someone that everyone on his team would run through a wall for if they saw Coby do it.”
With attending Rothesay, Tunnicliff has been forced to repeat Grade 11, a commitment which comes with not being able to graduate with his friends at Riverview in June.
“One thing you have to appreciate for any kid that comes to our program, like Coby, is that these are the sacrifices they make,” said Gay, who’s also Tunnicliff’s math teacher.
“They understand what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.
“Coby is committed to it. He’s all-in on it. His effort is never outmatched, and his dog effort is something that has come a long way since the start of the year.”
Gay doesn’t doubt Tunnicliff could play at the NCAA Division 1 level, however, the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing challenges for future basketball graduates.
“If Coby sat down with me today and said he wanted to play NCAA, I’d tell him there’s a 100 per cent chance that he’s definitely going to be able to do that,” said Gay.
“I think he has a chance that was a heck of a lot better had COVID-19 not hit — I’m running into the same situation with some of my current 2021 graduates where there’s no seniors anywhere.
“Last year and this year are completely irrelevant. There’s going to be an absolute logjam in these schools with scholarships — we’re talking to coaches where they don’t have any more scholarships available, where in a normal year they would have four.”
Although the team has only played three games this season, they continue to practice every day, despite the pandemic.
“It’s more focusing on player development, but being able to be in the gym is something we can’t take for granted because some high schools don’t have the opportunity,” said Tunnicliff.
In a normal year, Rothesay’s basketball team would attend various tournaments across the country as well as in the United States including the annual Hoops and Dreams Showcase in Fayetteville, N.C., and the Gotham Hoops Classic in Manhattan, N.Y.
Because of the pandemic, the team won’t be attending those events.
“I have next year to play in those tournaments,” said Tunnicliff. “It’s disappointing for us because we were training really hard, but we’re still getting better each day.”
Despite the challenges of being away from home, Tunnicliff credits his smooth transition to Rothesay to his support in Cape Breton.
“I have such an amazing support system with my family, friends and girlfriend,” said Tunnicliff. “I feel they deserve credit for always being there for me and supporting me in the decisions I make.”
For now, Tunnicliff is focused on improving his game and leadership skills and is looking forward to what his basketball future holds.