Michael Crotty Jr. was a member of the first Middlesex Magic team in 1993. More than three decades later, he’s carrying on the legacy that his father Mike Crotty Sr. built.
Crotty Jr., who went on to become a two-time All-American and 2003 national champion at Williams College, took the reins of the program in 2010 following his father’s tragic death. His dad would certainly be proud of what the Magic have become, a fixture of the grassroots scene in New England and now one of the top programs in the country.
The Magic’s top 17U squad joined the Under Armour grassroots league – one of the best shoe brand circuits in the nation – in 2022, and have experienced immediate success. They won the championship in 2023, and recently finished another strong season this summer as one of the best teams on the circuit.
It doesn’t stop there. Crotty has built a sustainable, deep program that includes dozens of teams at various skill levels and age groups, including the Magic’s 17U team that won this summer’s Hoop Group championship. It’s all operated on the same core principles and values that Crotty’s father created the program on.
Crotty joined the New England Basketball Journal on the latest HoopWise podcast to discuss several topics, including the Magic’s talented 2025 class, continuing his father’s legacy and his vision for the program’s future. The conversation also includes some stories and lessons inspired by the Magic’s three NBA alumni – Pat Connaughton, Duncan Robinson and Tyler Kolek.
Watch the video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB0wB_lpiiQ
Highlights
What have you see in Ryder Frost's (Magic's highest-ranked player in 2025 class, No. 97 by ESPN) development?
Crotty: “He always was pretty big and strong, always could really shoot it. What he's done in the last 18 months, though, is make another step in the transformation of his body. He's a machine physically. His shot was always compact and fast, it got tighter and faster. He's put in the work, he's put in the reps. I've always said shooting is about consistency and repetition, and he's amazingly consistent and he takes more reps than just about anyone, maybe him and (Thomas) Ferdinando. They never leave the gym. I just say, 'Shut the lights off.' But they really work at it.”
How do you envision the future of the Middlesex Magic?
Crotty: “First and foremost, I want to continue to do our best to grow our girls’ program, the Lady Magic. It’s smaller in nature and it started in the recent past. Sometimes it’s difficult to be great on both sides, but that’s not going to stop us from trying. That’s our plan. And we want to be able to help as many young women as we can, young men, so that’s a goal. We’ve had our three-court facility for five years, that’s been big for the development of our camps and clinics. Chris Giordano heads up Gold Standard training, Chris is just an amazing coach, mentor, best friend to me, a guy that is just a pleasure to work with every day. Building and expanding on that will continue to be a big part of what we want to do because I think you can serve such a wide range there, from the beginner to the development, to the really high-end player, so that’s another goal.
“We want to be a club program for as many good players as we can as long as we have the two most important things that I always say to running a club program, which is excellent, dedicated coaches and really good facilities. If we have those things, we’ll continue to try to serve as many kids as we can to help.”
Listen
The HoopWise podcast can be streamed here and on major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
