Heeps happy to be home
East Greenbush native looks forward to her 1st season with Danes
If not for the circumstances caused by COVID -19, Grace Heeps probably would have returned to the University of Massachusetts for her sophomore season of basketball.
Instead, Heeps, an East Greenbush native, finds herself back home, competing for playing time at the University at Albany, which is scheduled to begin its pandemic-delayed season Friday at Hofstra.
“It was a last-minute decision to come to Ualbany,” Heeps said. “Up until the end of July, I was set on going to Umass for the second year, but once they came out with the COVID regulations for on campus at Umass, how there was going to be a quarantine, I wasn’t able to leave my room for weeks and we wouldn’t be able to have to access to a gym. I thought that specifically, my mental health would suffer, and also I am a big family person. I realized that during the quarantine, that I actually love being with my family.”
After making the decision, Heeps was resigned to sitting out this season per NCAA regulations, but a relaxing of transfer
rules caused her to reconsider. She got word only a couple of weeks ago that her waiver was granted and she is eligible to play this season.
“When I came in, I wasn’t planning on applying for a waiver because I didn’t think that I would get an extra year,” she said, “but once I heard that, our coaching staff pushed for me to apply for one. I was more than happy to and I almost got a little too excited. I was very anxious about it and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, they think I’m going to play.’ ”
Heeps first played on the Columbia High varsity as an eighthgrader. She moved on to Northfield Mount Hermon prep school in Massachusetts after her sophomore year. She played 17 games last season at Umass, averaging 6.4 minutes and 0.9 points.
“She’s got a terrific basketball IQ,” Ualbany coach Colleen Mullen said. “She’s coming in as somebody that has established herself as a vocal leader and somebody who is one of our hardest workers. She’s in the gym getting shots up all the time. She’s a terrific addition to our team culture and just has a tremendous competitive spirit.”
As she was growing up, Heeps said she often attended Ualbany games. She called Imani Tate, a two-time all-america East guard who played from 2013 to 2017, the player she admired most. The Danes went to the NCAA Tournament in Tate’s four seasons.
“When I was a young girl, I’ve always strived to be like them,” Heeps said. “I was like, ‘These girls are superstars, they are amazing idols and they slap my hand.’ I feel like now I get the opportunity to do that. I’m very excited to be in the opposite role now.”
So why didn’t she go to Ualbany at the beginning?
“The first time I went around with recruiting,” she explained, “I was like I don’t want to be home. Now that I’m back, I know a lot of people around here. I have a pretty good reputation around here. I would say a lot of younger kids look up to me and my AAU program, the New York Havoc, and I’m happy to be home and I’m happy to represent Albany, East Greenbush, New York. I’m just so excited to be back and be close to home and have the opportunity to get to play. With COVID and all this stuff, this is really a great opportunity we have.”