TWITTY CHASES HOOP DREAMS IN IRELAND
Randolph native signs with Sligo All-Stars
For Brandon Twitty, his mind was already made up.
The former Catholic Memorial standout had envisioned playing professional basketball ever since he was a little kid and learned that his favorite player, Allen Iverson, didn’t need to work another job outside of playing basketball.
So once Twitty’s senior season at Stonehill College concluded in March, he jumped at the chance to play professionally and made it official Monday when he signed a contract with the Sligo All-Stars of Ireland.
“It’s honestly a dream come true,” said Twitty, a Randolph native. “It’s been a dream of mine as a kid, since I’ve been old enough to realize you can get paid to play basketball. It all feels real now, which is nice and I’m just extremely blessed to be in the position I am.”
Twitty garnered attention from the overseas club due to the stellar career he had at Stonehill and a connection Sligo has with the college. A 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard, Twitty emerged as a fulltime starter by his sophomore year and earned All-Northeast-10 Conference Third Team honors as a senior when he averaged 13.8 points and 1.9 assists per game.
Twitty dazzled with a polished offensive game and a tremendous shot-making ability, especially from long range as he knocked down better than 40% of his attempts from beyond the arc in three of his four seasons with the Skyhawks.
While Twitty can provide a lot on the court for Sligo, he’s also looking to make an impact in other areas when he reports to the team in the middle of September with the season beginning a month later.
“I look forward to expanding my game in all aspects,” Twitty said. “But most importantly, they’re getting a good person, a leader, a great teammate and that’s more important than any number of points I put up or assists I might dish out. They’re just getting a good person who’s going to come in and work hard and work for everything.”
That’s something Catholic Memorial coach Denis Tobin saw up close. Twitty helped the
Knights to a Div. 1 state title as a junior before earning Herald Dream Team recognition as a senior.
“He never seemed to take a play off, whether it was in practice or in games,” Tobin said. “Some guys will give it to you on one end of the floor or the other. With Brandon, you always knew you were getting his best.”
Twitty will have to get acquainted with new teammates and coaches along with playing different competition on another continent, but Tobin expects him to adjust to his new surroundings just fine. “Brandon’s one of them kids, even at CM, he’s able to adapt to whatever environment he’s in,” Tobin said.
The rarity of this opportunity isn’t lost on Twitty. He’s dreamt of playing professionally for so long that it took a moment for it all to sink in.
“I want to keep playing this game as long as my body allows me to,” Twitty said. “I’m in a position to get paid to play basketball which is obviously a blessing in itself, but I play the game because I love it more so than the fact that I can get paid to do it.”