Friendly rivals honored in return
Girard III, Mccaffery get awards at Albany Coaches vs. Cancer event
The Syracuse and Iowa men’s basketball teams meet at the Carrier Dome on Dec. 3 in the Big Ten/ ACC Challenge.
That will be the first time Orange guard Joseph Girard III and Hawkeyes forward Patrick Mccaffery will get a chance to face each other as college players. The two freshmen have known each other since they were thirdgraders in the Capital Region.
“I’ve joked around with ( McCaffery) here and there about it,’’ Girard said. “He’s a great kid and great family and I’ve always loved connecting with those guys.”
They got together again on Monday night at Albany Capital Center to be honored at the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Basket Ball.
Girard, who just finished an illustrious career at Glens Falls High, received the Inspiration Award. Mccaffery, son of former Siena head coach Fran Mccaffery, was given the Fighting Spirit Award. Patrick Mccaffery is a thyroid cancer survivor.
Girard dedicated the honor to his grandfather, Joe Girard Sr., who died of cancer three years ago.
“It ’s always great to come back to the Capital Region,’’ he said. “Like I always have said, even when I was playing back in Glens Falls, it ’s always good to give back to those who support you. Even coming back here and receiving an award for my grandfather, it ’s at the same time I’m giving back to the community and wanting to see everybody back here. Being here, it ’s always home and always will be.”
Girard won a Class B state title at Glens Falls and finished as New York’s all- time scoring leader with 4,763 points.
Patrick Mccaffery left the area before high school when his father, who won three Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference titles at Siena, took the head coaching job at Iowa.
Patrick Mccaffery was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2014.
“It ’s obviously a really scar y thought,’’ he said. “When you hear cancer, the first thing you think of is, am I going to be able to live? Am I still going to be able to act like and do the things that normal kids do?”
He recovered and became the all- time leading scorer at Iowa City West High School.
“It changes the way I look at life,’’ he said. “It makes me understand you can’t really take any thing for granted.”
With the Hawkeyes, he’ll be reunited with his older brother, Connor, and play for his father.
“It ’s been a lot of f un so far,’’ Mccaffery said. “( Fran) hasn’t been too hard on me yet. We just started practice, so the more mistakes I make the harder on me he’ll get. It ’s been unique so far. I like playing with my brother and
with my dad. I think we’re going to have a really good team.”
Mccaffery was accompanied by his parents and his brothers on Monday. They toured the Siena campus in the afternoon, which brought back f unny memories for Patrick, a former Siena ballboy.
“I saw the vending machines,” Patrick said “I probably put at least $ 1,000 in the vending machines when I was a little kid, and none of it was mine.”
Back then, he was known as “P. Diddy ” and ran around practice with Superman clothes.
As a child, Mccaffer y played for the City Rocks A AU program, while Girard suited up for a rival team. They were reunited as teammates in the Capital Classic in Washington, D. C., in April.
Girard was accompanied Monday by Syracuse assistant Gerry Mcnamara, the former Orange great. Syracuse scheduled a day off from practice so Girard could attend.
“Life’s been great,’’ Girard said. “I’m working my butt off. Coach Mcnamara, the rest of the staff, Coach ( Jim Boeheim), they ’ve been making us go hard each and ever y day. To say the least, it ’s a different lifestyle.”
Old Dominion head coach Jeff Jones, who is fighting prostate cancer, was also recognized at Monday ’s f unction.