May 4, 2004, Shirley, MA Oracle

Assumption College lands Greg Twomey

Photo/Shirley Oracle

By Ken Blanchette

GROTON -- Greg Twomey, Groton Dunstable's all-time leading basketball scorer, has signed to attend Assumption College starting in the fall.

"There are a lot of reasons I chose Assumption," said Twomey. "It is close to home and that will allow my family and friends to attend games. "Assumption has shown an interest in me for four years and I really feel they wanted me. My decision came down to Assumption, Stonehill and Northeastern. Assumption and Stonehill showed the most interest."
Twomey was very impressed with the honesty of Assumption coach Tom Ackerman.

"He said the team is looking for a wingman," said Twomey. "But he made no promises to me. He said that if I work hard and can play and come in and make an impact. He was very straightforward and there were no guarantees.

"Coach Ackerman said that they want to get up and down the floor more," added Twomey. "He feels that I will fit into that style and it is something I like to do because that is what we did at Groton Dunstable."

Assumption got its first view at Twomey in his freshman season by accident.

"They came to Groton Dunstable to scout Whitinsville Christian's Jared Linnell against us in a District game," said Twomey. "They have always been there and have seen me play quite a few times. I think that all the games we played in the Clark Tournament and at W.P.I in the Districts were a large part of that. I think that those games gave me a lot of exposure."

"The first time we saw Greg was when we were scouting Jared Linnell," said Ackerman. "We saw that Greg was an athletic freshman and was very competitive. We saw him a lot over the last four years and his competitive is the thing that stands out. I never left a Groton Dunstable game being disappointed what I saw from him.

"You want young men in your program who will fit in and are good people," added Ackerman. "If you know a better kid than Greg Twomey I would like to recruit him. He is the All-American boy. You can't win with kids who think about themselves and we have always been impressed with how much about team Greg is."

Twomey's versatility was a large part of his success at Groton Dunstable and will be a big plus at Assumption.
"Greg will come in as a small forward," said Ackerman. "We expect guys to be able to do a lot of little things and he is a very versatile player. As a freshman Greg will do a lot of little things, but over the course of four years he should put up good numbers in a number of categories."

Assumption resides in the Northeast-10, a very competetive Division 2 league. Other league members include: American Internation College, Bentley, Bryant, Franklin Pierce, LeMoyne, U.Mass-Lowell, Merrimack, Pace, St. Anselm's, St. Michael's, St. Rose, Southern Connecticut, Southern New Hampshire, and Stonehill.

"I've seen a lot of games at that level and the skill level is similar to Division 1," said Twomey. "The difference is the size.
Ackerman concurred with that statement.

"Division 1 schools are able to recruit the 6-9 kid that we aren't able to land," he said.

Twomey has some work to do before he steps up to the next level.

"My goal is to play right away and I will be working on my game this summer and playing against top-level players," he said. "I need to work on getting my jump shot to be more consistent and I also needed to do a lot of work in the weight room."

"The family is thrilled with Greg's decision," said Joe Twomey, Greg's dad. "My son Ed graduated from Assumption in 2000 and played soccer there. It is a great school with wonderful coaches, who have shown an interest in Greg for more than three years. Greg did this right, he took his time on the decision and we are all pleased. Assumption is a great fit."
"I'm glad the choice is made," said Greg. "Going through the process is stressful and I'm relieved it is over and ready to start a new challenge."

"We are thrilled to have Greg coming into our program," said Ackerman. "We believe he is the best player in this area in awhile, and he is the whole package."