BOSTON GLOBE: Between hello and goodbye, Greg Twomey set teams' standards

March 27, 2008

High school, college coaches sing praises Groton-Dunstable High graduate

By Sapna Pathak

Boston Globe Correspondent

In four years of coaching, Groton-Dunstable boys' basketball coach Keith Woods had only two words for Greg Twomey.

Hello and goodbye.

"I didn't have to say anything to him except that," Woods said with a laugh. "He was already playing at the level every coach dreams of having a player be at. He was the best player in our league from the minute he stepped on the court as a freshman. He was quite a treat for me as a coach. Any coach would be lucky to have him."

Woods's assessment was right on. Eight years after joining Groton Dunstable's varsity roster, Twomey is making things easy for Serge DeBari at Assumption College.

"His character is impeccable. He is one of the hardest working players I've ever had," said DeBari, men's basketball coach for the Greyhounds. "He's a blue-collar player who comes to compete every single day. Basically I tell my guys, 'If Greg does it, then you should do it too,' because he usually does everything right."

Twomey, a Groton resident, recently wrapped up his senior season at Division 2 Assumption, helping the Greyhounds to the NCAA Division 2 Northeast Regional final against Bentley College. With a 33-0 record, Bentley prevailed, 88-72, but it was Twomey's second-half performance that was just a small glimpse of what the forward-guard can do.

Eighteen of Twomey's team-high 20 points were scored after halftime, including three 3-pointers. DeBari called it "maybe the most brilliant second half performance I've seen yet, and when the game was on the line, Greg came through."

Twomey will return on scholarship to play as a graduate student next season because he missed most of his freshman season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in the second game.

"The injury was a shock. I never missed a game before that, in soccer or basketball, so to be hurt like that was really tough," he said. "But it was a blessing in disguise because now I get to come back as a scholarship athlete and work on my MBA. Getting my master's was something I don't think I would have thought about had I not gotten hurt and had the chance to come back after this year."

The third-year captain finished this season strong, averaging 12.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He led the Greyhounds (24- 11) to one of the best seasons in program history, ending one win shy of tying the program's single-season record for wins.

As a junior, the 6-foot-4-inch Twomey led the team in minutes played with 864 and points per game with 13.4. He started 27 games as a sophomore, averaging 10.1 points and 5.4 rebounds, and was voted captain by his teammates.

Under Woods, his high school numbers were just as good.

The Crusaders went 85-9 with Twomey and fellow standout Dylan Holmes, who has gone on to star at Salem State. Twomey shattered the school record of 1,530 career points, graduating with 1,712. As a senior, the four-time Midland-Wachusett League all-star averaged 21 points and 6.2 rebounds, and led the squad to a 25-1 finish as a state finalist. The two-year captain led Groton-Dunstable to a 21-2 season as a junior, a 22-2 finish as a sophomore, and averaged more than 17 points all three years.

"Greg could score, pass, run the floor, defend, bring the ball up, he did it all," Woods said. "He and Dylan came in and changed everything. He passed two milestones, one for 1,000 points and the other for the school record. Both nights he needed more than 25 points to get the records, and both nights he went out there, scored the points, and said, 'Let's do it, let's get this over with so my team can win.' "

Though Twomey's unstoppable ability to score - and score fast - is evident, perhaps it's his humility and dedication to his community that set him apart.

Twomey spent his Easter weekend helping paint the Peter Twomey Youth Center in Groton, named for his older brother, who died in a car accident when Greg was in the sixth grade.

"It was a run-down, old building," Twomey said. "The town put in the effort and time and made it what it is today. The basketball court is a cool story. You could buy 1 square foot for $12 and, once it was all paid for, people just volunteered and installed it over 12 straight weekends."

Growing up with five older brothers, Twomey was exposed to a variety of sports, but excelled in basketball and soccer, which he also played in high school. The second-youngest of eight also follows in some of his older siblings' footsteps as a college athlete.

His oldest brother, Joe, played lacrosse at Merrimack College; his second-oldest brother, Ed, was a soccer player at Assumption; and his younger sister, Stacia, is a sophomore on the Worcester State women's basketball team.

"He's just a solid kid, he has a heart of gold," Woods said. "He's a big part of my own family, and he's dedicated to his family and this community. Aside from hello and goodbye, there was one thing I would always yell to him: 'Shoot the ball.' He is that kind of player, he's selfless and I would have to scream at him to just shoot the ball. He is a superstar, but you would never know it."