The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Garry sponsoring own hoops camp
Walk-on taking advantage of NIL rules
When the NCAA passed legislation recently allowing student-athletes to cash in on their name, image and likeness (NIL), there appeared to be certain athletes who would benefit the most.
People like UConn women’s star Paige Bueckers, with her 900,000 Instagram followers, or the Michigan football team, or even UConn men’s point guard R.J. Cole and his “Cole-Blooded” t-shirts.
Walk-ons weren’t necessarily the players most expected to benefit from NIL legislation. Then again, they’re the ones still paying full tuition. They could use a few extra bucks.
With that in mind, UConn’s Matt Garry has hatched one of the program’s most unique NIL ventures thus far. The Matt Garry Basketball Camp will run Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 21 and 22, for kids grades 5-12 at the Bristol Sports Armory in Bristol.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, even before (NIL),” said Garry,
a Southington native. “Now that we’re able to do it, I thought it might be a nice way to make some extra money, because I’ve got to pay for school and stuff like that. But also to give back to the town I came from and the place I went to high school.”
Garry, a St. Paul High graduate, has put up flyers all around Southington and Bristol to attract campers, who for $50 can attend a 21⁄2-hour session on either day, depending on gradelevel. Certainly, it’s a labor of love for Garry, who worked out at Bristol Sports Armory through last year’s COVID summer. His parents, Michael and Angela, younger brother, Tyler, and former coach at middle school and St. Paul’s, Mike Lodicico, will help out as staffers.
“I did camps like that when I was a kid, and I’ve made it to here,” he said. “So, I think it’s a good place for kids to start. It’s just a good opportunity for me to give back.”
Garry will also profit from the venture, depending on how many campers sign up (they’re at about 20 right now) and how much he nets after costs like renting the facility, paying staffers and insurance fees. Those are the type of behind-the-scenes things Garry learned in a presentation by Opendorse, the company that’s partnered with UConn (and many other schools) to deal with student-athletes utilizing NIL.
In line with NIL guidelines, Garry can’t use any UConn logos, etc. in his advertising for the camp. Though the flyer is in Husky blue, red and white lettering, Garry is merely referenced as a “CT Division I college basketball player.”
Against the odds, that’s exactly what Garry has been the past three seasons, the first year as primarily a practice player, the latter two as a preferred walk-on who dresses for every game. Like most walk-ons, his playing time has been scant — just eight minutes in six games as a sophomore, scoring nary a point. There was that one chance for glory in an early-season game against NJIT, when he went to the foul line four times in the final minute with seemingly half of Southington in the crowd cheering him on.
He missed all four shots. Of course, Garry’s playing time was non-existent last season. During a practice on Oct. 26, the 6-foot-5 left-handed guard got bumped while going up for a layup and came down a little harder than he expected on his left leg.
He blew out his knee, tearing his ACL and meniscus and suffering an osteochondral defect, which essentially meant a chipped piece of cartilage off the groove his kneecap sits in. Garry was out for the season.
He underwent surgery on Nov. 19. A little over a week later, he tested positive for COVID-19.
“2020 was a rough year, for sure,” Garry said, in a true understatement.
It’s been a long, grueling rehab the past eight months, but the end is in sight. Currently, Garry says he’s “working on becoming a basketball player again,” including his skills, agility, conditioning and getting strength back in his legs.
Next week, he could be cleared to play 1-on-1 again, and a few weeks after that, perhaps ready for 5-on-5, halfcourt games before eventually progressing to fullcourt.
“It’s definitely been both mentally and physically challenging,” Garry reported. “Every time you hit a milestone, there’s another one you’ve got to do. Even hitting this one, James (Doran, UConn’s trainer) was like, ‘Yeah, we’ve still got a lot of work to go.’ So, I think it’s all about staying locked-in on the end goal and taking the little steps to get there.”
He said Doran believes he’ll be ready to go by the time official practices start in late September. Hopefully, he’ll be able to get into a few more games this season.
And if Garry gets four more chances at the foul line …