Rothesay Netherwood School honours late first recruit with memorial tournament
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A basketball tournament in New Brunswick is honouring a player who passed away in a canoeing accident four years ago.
It has been four years since Nova Scotia native and Calgary Dino’s basketball star Andrew Milner passed away in a canoeing accident at the age of 19.
The young athlete was the first ever recruit for Rothesay Netherwood School’s prep basketball team back in 2017, and his legacy looms large with a tournament named in his honour.
“I’m kind of crazy and I like to dream big so I wanted to build the best basketball program in the world,” says Netherwood coach and tournament organizer Damian Gay. “Andrew Milner was the first person, not just kid, first person that looked at me like I wasn’t crazy and he actually believed in me.”
“He is just so important, not just to our school, but the Canadian Basketball Community.”
The tournament itself began Thursday and wrapped up on Saturday. Play featured eight teams from all four amateur basketball leagues in the country, including USPORTS teams like University of New Brunswick, and the University of Cape Breton.
Second year player Rayner Glenn looks at the challenge as a great opportunity to learn more about the game.
“Obviously they are older, they’re stronger, and they’re more experienced,” says Glenn. “But it’s a really good opportunity to play against some guys that are older then you and have been playing game longer.”
