As basketball season is right around the corner, new coach Nick Carroll is ready to roll. The co-founder of Prep Hoops, former Minnetonka, and Augsburg basketball assistant coach has come to take the place of Robert Ware who has left his position to be the head coach at Maranatha Christian Academy where he is also the new Dean of Academics.

Why Carroll came to TG was because of a mix of familiarity and chance. Carroll went to Cretin-Derham Hall High School. He went to private Catholic schools and is used to the independent system.

But there was also ample opportunity that Carroll wanted to find here at TG and he thinks he has surely found it. “I think there’s a really unique package that can be offered by private schools. When it comes to the holistic experience with faith, leadership development, and the academic and social components it was something that I wanted to explore further. When I started meeting some of the kids on campus and figuring out that not many schools interested me like Totino-Grace right in the metro and had a very large school size compared to them. It was a no-brainer.”   

Carroll also has an extensive background in the game of basketball. Most notably as the co-founder of Prep Hoops, a website that is the national leading database for prep basketball and recruiting. “I started it in March of 2012 and it was one of those labor of love type of situations. I started it based solely on my passion for the game of basketball and had no intentions of the website turning into a career of sorts for me. It derived a lot of my experiences as a D3 recruit and wanted the opportunity to look at more options. We’ve been growing the business nationally and trying to provide more opportunities for players across the country.”

But what everyone wants to know is how will Carroll’s experience help our boys on the hardwood? Our Eagles have not won a state championship since 1972 and have not made the tournament since 2006, a long drought. If Carroll can bring this experienced senior class to its first state tournament that will be an amazing start.

“It seems like we have a group of kids that enjoy being around each other and as coaches, we have to trust that we have their best intentions at heart.” Carroll emphasizes that the seniors have had experience with a couple of different coaches staffs in their career so it’s understandable to develop and build that respect with them as well.

So it looks like Nick Carroll and TG are a great fit. He has a private school background and has a lot of experience with the high school basketball system. Carroll notes that he doesn’t factor wins and losses into a great future for Totino-Grace basketball, rather it is a product of the culture established in the program. “Most importantly we want kids to come into our program to fearlessly compete and pursue their goals while without having concern for what the ramifications will be if they don’t. We want that native instinct to pounce on opportunities where failure may come and the rest will hopefully take care of itself.”

Coming this winter there will be a preview of this years basketball squad just before the season. But let us give Nick Carroll a warm welcome, and hope for the best this coming season and beyond for our Eagles!

For more information on Prep Hoops you can follow this link:

https://www.prephoops.com/