Three Quinnipiac seniors have had unique experiences playing for the Bobcats
HAMDEN, Conn. (BVM) — After the colleges that Brendan Martin wanted to play basketball for rescinded their interest, he attended Quinnipiac University as a finance major without a basketball scholarship. He had childhood dreams of playing DI basketball, and four years later, he’s graduating, having played three seasons as a walk-on for the Bobcats.
Martin, a 5-foot-7 guard, played 10 total minutes and scored five points across three seasons for the Bobcats; yet his dream came true. He made his first start at 2022 senior day alongside regular starters and fellow graduating seniors Jacob Rigoni and Kevin Marfo.
“I’ve told these guys time and time again that I kind of live my childhood dream of being a DI basketball player through them,” Martin said. “Even though I’m not a scholarship guy, I compete like I am. I think everyone on the team would agree that when I get into the practice, I’m all business. I really just want to help the team win and play to the best of my abilities. And you know, when you play super hard, sometimes playing hard can be talent.”
Martin attended Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, New York. One of his high school rivals, Savion Lewis, joined Quinnipiac on a full scholarship in 2018 as a fellow freshman. Lewis told Martin about a walk-on opportunity, which convinced Martin to try out. He eventually made the team.
“They let me know early [what] my responsibilities [were],” Martin said. “They weren’t going to really look for me to be a guy that would be playing a ton. I’d be a guy that would be a strong locker room presence and a guy that whenever it was needed in practice, they felt that I had the skill level to be able to compete. That’s the kind of energy that I brought every day. I loved every moment of it.”
“As soon as I made the team…Rigoni, who’s definitely one of my best friends on the team now, saw the emotions that I had,” Martin said. “He asked if I wanted to go to a more private place to call my family. He walked me outside, and I called my dad. And yeah, we cried together.”
Rigoni is regarded as a team leader, having spent five years as a Bobcat. He had a noticeably different path than Martin, yet they made an easy connection over basketball.
Rigoni graduates as Quinnipiac’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals (319). He previously called coming to the U.S. and Quinnipiac “The scariest thing I’ve ever done in my life.” However, after five years in the program, the 6-foot-6 forward from Adelaide, Australia, views his time at Quinnipiac as anything but scary.
“I think in life, there’s a lot of adversity that you go through. No one’s going to talk about it; no one knows what each individual is going through,” Rigoni said. “I think we’ve all had tough times. I was embraced from day one by the guys that we had. That first team will always be a special group in my heart because they really made me comfortable here in America.”
While Rigoni underwent adversity and mental health challenges, he attributes moving past those issues to why he feels proud of his accomplishments.
“I’ve definitely grown as a person more because of the challenges. I don’t think I would have been able to do this personal development anywhere else,” Rigoni said. “The challenge has been awesome, and I wouldn’t change a thing.”
With a bachelor’s degree in psychology, a master’s degree in business administration, and an upcoming master’s degree in public relations, Rigoni plans to continue his basketball career after graduating. He’s signed to Australia’s Sturt Sabres Basketball Club of the NBL1 for their upcoming 2022 season.
“It’s the whole journey. It’s the early mornings and late nights, the practices, the stuff that isn’t pretty. I still love that,” Rigoni said. “That’s something I want to be involved in every single day. So I’m going to keep working. And I got a lot of room to keep growing.”
The sentiment of keeping the love for basketball is shared by graduating teammate Marfo. The 6-foot-9 forward from Brooklyn, NY, wants to continue to play after graduating.
“I know I’m going to be playing basketball after this. But the opportunity to play basketball for college and represent something bigger than myself may not happen ever happen again,” Marfo said. “I try to play every game like it’s my last. Sometimes I’m better at doing that than other times, but I wouldn’t see it as any other way.”
Marfo played one year at George Washington University before transferring to Quinnipiac in 2017. He led the entire nation in rebounds per game (13.3) in 2019-20, before transferring to Texas A&M University for one season. He transferred back to Quinnipiac for his final season of college eligibility.
Through his six years of college, the challenges of attending three different schools helped Marfo develop into the person he wants to be.
“Every year you grow a level of maturity and you authentically ask yourself what you want,” Marfo said. “It’s a game of runs. So it may look bad now, but if you keep sticking to it, it’s always going to get better.”
The experience Marfo has accumulated helps his image as a team leader.
“With Marfo definitely, having his six years in college being at three different schools, you learn a lot through that. So I can always pick his brain about what he thinks on certain things. And I think me and him have grown close,” said Quinnipiac sophomore guard, Tymu Chenery. “Rigoni, meanwhile has been a big instrument to my success. I will say in the beginning he definitely helped me build my confidence by saying, ‘You could really play here, you could affect this team in a positive way with your defense.’ The coaches can do so much and they do the best they can, but they’re not around as much as the guys are.”
The idea of the senior leadership is thought of similarly by junior guard Matt Balanc.
“I think the biggest thing is their leadership roles. Rigoni has been here five years. Kevin has played a lot of college basketball and at different schools as well, so he has a lot of perspective when it comes to college basketball,” Balanc said. “And then you have a total opposite spectrum with Brendan Martin who sees it from a totally different area.”
Martin wasn’t an on-court leader like Rigoni and Marfo proved to be. However, his accomplishing of his goals can prove inspirational.
“I’m just proud. I’m really proud of myself,” Martin said. “Obviously, when I dreamed of it as a kid, I figured I would be the one playing in the games and scoring the points and hitting the assists and winning the games. Obviously, that’s not how it turned out. But you know, I gave it the old college try. It’s been a long way that I’ve been working.”
