East Granby Boys Basketball to Play at MassMutual Center

The boys basketball teams from and Ellington High have a unique opportunity next month, as they will square off against one another on the floor of a professional basketball team.

On Feb. 3, the Crusaders and Purple Knights will play their regular season matchup at the MassMutual Center, the home of the Springfield (Mass.) Armor, an NBA Development League team.

The game, which was the brainchild of East Granby parent Joe Arsenault, will precede the Armor’s tie against the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Arsenault and his son Tyler, a sophomore on the varsity basketball team, frequent the Springfield games and were approached last year by Springfield management about possibly playing a regular season high school game before an Armor game.

“When you watch guys that are one step away from the NBA out of college, the hitting and banging that goes on in the paint, it’s great to watch,” Joe Arsenault said.

Joe Aresenault worked out the arrangements with the athletic directors of both high schools, who gave the OK for the event during the fall.

To arrange the floor time, Joe Arsenault fronted the money for 300 tickets, which he is reselling to the supporters of both teams for $9. In addition to the high school game, fans can stick around for the NBADL game afterward.

After Joe Arsenault recoups his initial investment, the remaining proceeds will be divided between the athletic departments of both schools. Arsenault says he is not making any money from the arrangement.

So far, ticket sales have been slow, according to Joe Arsenault; He hopes that sales will pick up now that the game is just a couple of weeks away.

“If I sell 200 tickets, so be it,” Arsenault said. “For me, this is an opportunity for the kids. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do this. … I don’t think it has hit them yet, that they will walk out onto an NBA floor, and they get to stick around for an NBA game.”

East Granby High head coach Jeff Moger said that he is excited for his players to have the opportunity to play in such a forum.

Moger also thanked Ellington High Athletic Director Tim McCluskey for giving up what would have been its home game against the Crusaders to accommodate the special game.

And while the game is a little over three weeks away, the East Granby High players, for their part, are aware that playing in an 8,000-seat arena will be quite a departure from their normal stomping grounds in the North Central Connecticut Conference.

“Its a change for us playing in a big arena coming from a small town like this,” said Crusaders senior guard and tri-captain Ryan Aeschliman. “You don’t get opportunities like that too often. Joe Arsenault put this together for us. Hopefully we will get the crowd out there that we normally get, and then some, and we’ll have a big game.”

People interested in purchasing tickets for $9 can contact Joe Arsenault at 860-651-7840 or at LJCT10@aol.com.