Marcus Montagnino, the rookie and the vet.
He's a graduate student studying for a Masters in Sports Leadership at Endicott College, and at 22 years old, is also eligible for the Conference of New England's men's basketball rookie of the year award. The locker room loves it.
"They joke around calling me grandpa and Ben Simmons," he said. "It's funny. I'm definitely more mature than most of them I'd say, but I'm having a good time right now."
The Gloucester, Mass., native took a delayed route to playing college hoops but is thriving. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound forward averages better than 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal per game for the perennial Division 3 powerhouse Gulls (6-4), who return to league play Jan. 4 after the winter break.
MORE: Division 3 men's standouts | Division 3 women's standouts
Montagnino starred on the court at Gloucester High, finishing his career with 1,293 points (third-most in program history) and winning Northeastern Conference MVP. But the sport he planned on playing collegiately? Baseball. A rangy center fielder and contact hitter with a knack for getting on base, Montagnino starred on the diamond for Gloucester and played AAU baseball for Legends Baseball out of Middleton, Mass., a program that's produced 128 college players and 15 MLB draftees.
"Defense was my main thing," Montagnino said. "I loved playing the field."
So, he hoped to walk on to Xavier's Division 1 baseball team. The coaches knew him, but it never happened. The COVID-19 pandemic altered Montagnino's routine. He found it easier to train for basketball or find pickup games more so than the baseball equivalent.
During his sophomore year at Xavier, Montagnino, who already played club hoops, decided to try out for the Musketeers basketball team as a walk-on. He made the cut for the next year, but a coaching change altered the program and negated the previously offered spot. Montagnino continued playing club basketball and training year-round, mostly because he just loves the game.
During the first semester of his senior year at Xavier, Montagnino reached out to Endicott coach Kevin Bettencourt, who previously tried to recruit him to campus out of high school, with his interest in joining the program as a graduate student.
"I definitely missed the actual, seriously competitive aspect, so I knew I wanted to play more basketball after college," Montagnino said. "I knew it was a place I could play."
Bettencourt always kept track of Montagnino. The latter competed against the former's son in high school. They played in the same men's league.
"I had no trepidation," Bettencourt said. "I was always really high on Marcus. We were all in and excited."
Already a three-time CNE Rookie of the Week, Montagnino has produced double-figure scoring efforts in every game so far. He erupted for 32 points and 14 rebounds in his second-ever official collegiate game, a 96-88 win over SUNY Poly. He's made his mark as an all-around player, logging five games with six or more rebounds, at least three assists in all but two games and at least a steal in every contest.
"I had no idea what to expect in terms of impact, but after the first practice or two it was obvious," Bettencourt said. "He brings a physical, mature body and plays at a great pace. He's just a really good decision maker and never gets sped up."
Shooting efficiency makes Montagnino even more effective. He's averaging 18.0 points on just 10.6 total shots per game, shooting 63.2 percent from the field and 55.6 percent behind the arc. If anything, Bettencourt wants Montagnino, who he envisioned to play a point forward role from the jump, to be an even more aggressive playmaker and shotmaker.
Montagnino has two more years of eligibility after this and plans to play one more year at Endicott while finishing his master's program. He's not quite sure what he wants to do yet but wants to stay around hoops in a full-time capacity in some type of scouting or coaching role.
"I want to accomplish winning a conference championship this year," said Montagnino, who emphasized his desire for team-related goals.
But winning the league's rookie of the year as one of its oldest players has to provide some comedic relief, right?
"That would definitely be funny but also interesting and cool," he said. "I'm a little more experienced than all of the other rookies, so I have a bit of an unfair advantage."
