The College of New Jersey basketball
Bobby Brackett of The College of New Jersey men's basketball team and a Lawrence High alumnus will be traveling to Europe this summer as part of a Division II and III all-star team.
(Courtesy The College of New Jers)
Being a standout athlete for much of the two decades he’s been alive hasn’t exactly afforded Lawrence High graduate Bobby Brackett much time to travel.
“I’ve been out of the country with a friend for a cruise once but other than that I haven’t really been out of the northeast,” Brackett, a rising junior at The College of New Jersey said with a laugh.
It appears that’s about to change for Brackett, with sports behind the vehicle that allows him to get a few new stamps in his passport.
Brackett, who had a standout sophomore campaign for the Lions after transferring from Bloomfield College, was recently invited to be a part of Division II and III men’s basketball all-stars that will hit Europe for a nine-day, three-country tour from August 5-13 that will hit Belgium, the Netherlands and London.
“I checked the map, actually, and it’s a nice little triangle,” Brackett said. “It’s about a two-hour drive to each place.”
Like a lot of opportunities in life, the one recently presented to Brackett came about after a random sequence of family relationships connected him with Randolph-Macon University men’s assistant coach Joe Meehan, who was tabbed to coach the team.
Meehan was certainly in the market for an athletic and durable 6-foot-6 forward who was a first-team All-NJAC selection, leading the conference with 36.0 minutes per game. He averaged a double-double with 16.4 points per game and 13.1 rebounds per game, breaking the school’s 49-year-old record for rebounds in a season, snaring 326 to break Lions Hall of Famer Paul Brateris’ mark of 323.
There was one catch: to take part in the trip Brackett had to raise $3,850.
Since the school year ended Brackett’s worked 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. four days a week painting dorm rooms on TCNJ’s campus. He’s working the Philadelphia 76ers camp at Princeton Day School this week and is slated to work additional camps at Princeton University and the Mike Nardi/Grant Billmyer camp at Hopewell in the coming weeks.
That money, coupled with donations he’s received from family, friends and businesses, has Brackett to two-thirds of the funds necessary to partake in the trip.
“That’s literally the only downside to it,” Brackett said with a laugh about raising the funds. “But people are naturally nice and naturally want to see people do good things. I can’t be more grateful for the family, friends and coaches I have who have helped get me to this point.”
Brackett has plenty of reasons to look towards the future. The Lions return a large group of its core that just missed the NJAC playoffs last season, Brackett is looking forward to improving his own game and his team’s fortunes, which could get a boost when his brother, Nick, transfers in with two years of eligibility to play basketball.
The next order of business, however, will be to add a few new stamps to his passport.
“A couple months ago I didn’t even think about this as an opportunity,” Brackett said. “Once this popped up I knew I had to figure out a way to make it happen. It would be a great opportunity not only for me now but it will help me out in the future as well. My main goal after I graduate from TCNJ is to play professionally overseas. I’d love to go over there and play and live there for a while. I’ve never seen Europe before so I’m really looking forward to that. Not many 20-year-olds get a chance to do that so I’m really excited.”
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