Michael Crotty had enough. It was 8:02 a.m., and his Middlesex Magic 16U team’s game had barely started on a Sunday morning in Albany, N.Y., in April 2024. He called a timeout, then bolted on to the court to have a word with Quinn Costello.
Crotty later joked that he’d need a step stool to get eye to eye with the 6-foot-10 Costello, but standing on his tippy toes, he delivered a powerful message.
“I asked him, ‘When are you going to arrive? Like today in this building to play a game, and in general?’” Crotty recalled. “‘You’re out there, and you’re just not making an impact.’”
It was made loud and clear to everyone in the building, which included Costello’s grandfather in the stands. As they left the gym that day, Crotty crossed paths with him. He knew he had chewed his grandson out in front of him, and reassured him that he loved Costello.
