CHS grads pursuing opportunities in basketball ops

For Jonathan Gilmore and Austin Maffie, two former Canton High alumni and Bulldog basketball players, their interests in basketball did not end after high school graduation.

Both have pursued their interests beyond the hardwood and into basketball operations at their respective colleges, with Gilmore now moving into the professional ranks after four years at UCLA.

Jonathan Gilmore (CHS ‘2013)

A 2013 graduate of CHS, Gilmore became an assistant manager for the Bruins men’s basketball program as a sophomore and was promoted to head manager his senior year. He traveled with the team and went to the NCAA tournament. After graduation, his experience with UCLA basketball landed him an internship in the front office of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets and most recently in a basketball operations role with Life Sports, an LA-based sports management agency.

CHS head coach Ryan Gordy remembers Gilmore not only as a hardworking player but as a member of the team that provided the coach with his first tournament win — a big upset victory over a higher seeded Abington team on the road.

“He didn’t play much but was the ultimate team player,” Gordy said of Gilmore. “He was our inspiration to develop the Program Pride Award, which we hand out annually at our banquet. It’s the award we give to the ultimate teammate who prides himself on leading the team in claps and high fives. Jon Gilmore certainly did that. Every good team has a Jon Gilmore.”

As an assistant team manager at UCLA, Gilmore would help set up and assist at practices, which were held six days a week from September to March. Even in the offseason he worked with the team two or three days a week.

As head student manager, his responsibilities increased to include supervising the other six assistant student managers, attending all home games, and traveling with the team for away games.

After graduating from UCLA with an economics degree in 2017, Gilmore applied for a basketball operations internship with the Charlotte Hornets. His job was to help the assistant general manager and scouts with salary cap analysis and draft preparation and he worked with the Hornets from the end of May 2017 to June 2018. He is now working as a basketball operations coordinator for Life Sports Media Entertainment, performing statistical work for an NBA player representative who represents six to seven active NBA players.

Austin Maffie (CHS ‘2018)

“I really enjoy it,” Gilmore said of his new job at Life Sports. “I am getting to work on something I am passionate about and using skills I gained to work in the sport. It’s a good partnership, economics and sports. I will see where it takes me. At the end of this my goal is to be a front office executive.”

Gordy relayed Gilmore’s experiences to Maffie last year and he was inspired to apply for one of six assistant team manager positions at the University of Rhode Island. Enrolled in the general business studies program at URI, Maffie continues to love the game and “wanted to be part of something.”

Maffie began his volunteer job in late October and usually works six days a week. One of his jobs is working out daily with an individual player: starting point guard Daron “Fatts” Russell. On a typical day, Maffie will finish all of his classes by noon; prepare the equipment and supplies for a 1 p.m. practice; work as part of the scout team against the varsity; clean up after practice; and then work out with Russell on individual drills. Now well into the college basketball season, Maffie attends all URI home games. Two head managers travel with the team for away games. Maffie still plays basketball as the assistant team managers usually compete against the team’s assistant coaches.

“This is an incredible experience,” he said. “It’s one of the best decisions I have made … I feel like I am part of the URI basketball community.”

Maffie said the best part of the job is working one on one with Russell on shooting , dribbling, and defensive skills.

Just a few months into the job as assistant team manager, Maffie plans to continue in the role for the balance of his URI education and will see where his degree takes him.

Maffie has returned home this winter to catch a couple of CHS varsity games and enjoyed the Bulldogs’ recent upset win over Franklin. “This team is going to be great,” he said. “They have a solid defense and if they get their offense going, they are going to be unstoppable.”

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Posted by Mike Berger on Jan 4 2019. Filed under Beyond CHS, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.