As this issue arrives in Granby residents’ mailboxes, the regular high school basketball seasons will have ended, and the NCCC tournaments and state championship game brackets will be determined. While sport sessions begin and end three times during each academic year, the conclusion of this season marks the end of a seven-year journey for 13 members of the team.
Most of these players participated in the Granby Bears Basketball Summer Camp program offered annually for 1st through 8th graders by Granby Parks and Rec. Many played on Granby Parks and Rec teams as elementary school students. In March 2013, the Granby Boys Varsity Basketball team won the state championship at Mohegan Sun—this year’s seniors were in 4th grade. In October 2014, 21 6th graders attended tryouts for their inaugural year in Granby Travel Basketball’s program. In March 2018 the 10-member team, then in eighth grade, beat Mansfield and Enfield for the championship. Of the 10 who started together in 2014, eight are members of the current varsity team and one is a manager. There are a total of 11 seniors and two managers, also seniors, on the varsity team. At least three players are hoping to continue playing competitively after this year.
Coach Walter Hansen, currently in his 14th season as the Bear’s head coach, attended, “a ton of men’s basketball games” during his undergraduate years at Central Connecticut State University. Hansen recalls, “I watched and studied Howie Dickenman. I always loved basketball and knew I wanted to coach. Howie was extremely intense and passionate when he coached—he also liked to stomp the floor. I always thought if I coached, this was the way to be.” That intensity and passion led to the 2013 victory and a second championship game in March 2018 when the current Bears were freshmen.
When asked what the coach would want the Granby community to know about sports at the high school in general, and this program in particular, Hansen responds, “Granby athletics is a force to be reckoned with. We have some amazing kids and athletes at this school and the banners in the gym tell a story. I’d also like to think that Granby Basketball is a program that our community supports and is a respectable program throughout the state.” At press time the team is 14–3: statistics and schedule information for tournament games will be available on the Granby Memorial High School website.
