In September, 2005, new recruit Nick Snow—a 6’8″, London, Ontario native—was pumped about the possibilities of playing Varsity basketball for Mike Katz at U of T. His mood took a drastic change, however, when he learned that he might not be able to play basketball—or any contact sport for that matter—ever again.
Soon after he committed to Coach Katz and his Varsity Blues, Snow was diagnosed with a rare condition known as auto-immune hepatitis. The disease causes the body’s immune system to attack its own liver cells and affects about one in a thousand people. Despite this setback, Snow worked hard with Dr. Doug Richards and physiotherapist Nirtal Shah to develop a shell to protect his enlarged spleen, a symptom of his condition.
While Snow was finally cleared to play, another member of the Blues basketball team was a frequent visitor to U of T’s sports medicine clinic. Rob Paris suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during the same summer that Snow committed to the Blues. He underwent surgery that September, and was forced to sit out the entire season while rehabilitating his knee. The 6’0″ guard hailing from St Catharines, Ontario took the time off to work on his shooting, since it was essentially all he could do until he fully recovered. Paris had already played one year at U of T, and was Coach Katz’s first recruit since he took the job as Blues’ head coach.
While Paris was sidelined and Snow was developing his spleen protector, a 6’0″ Burlington recruit was huffing and puffing his way into Katz’s guard rotation. Nick Magalas suffered from asthma, which put him at a disadvantage for endurance. Nonetheless, Magalas worked hard for Coach Katz, with whom he immediately found a rapport, and was solidified in the second unit with Snow and Paris the following season.
In 2008, another recruit came to town, but he was not your typical pimply-faced, wet-behind-the-ears kid. Pat Sewell was the 2006-07 Ontario Colleges Athletic Association player of the year and All-Canadian Canadian Colleges Athletic Association award winner in his last of three years at Fanshawe College. With two years of eligibility left, Sewell decided to leave Fanshawe and pursue a degree in kinesiology. He began contacting schools looking for recruits, and when Coach Katz showed the most interest, Sewell decided to attend U of T. The road wouldn’t be easy. Since he wasn’t very confident in his academic abilities, Sewell knew that the transition from college to university would be an uphill battle.
In the same season, Magalas was given devastating news that his mother had been diagnosed with cancer. Her conditioned worsened so much that she could not attend any of his games during the 2008-09 season. Fortunately, Magalas’ mother persevered, and has since beaten the disease.
In his five-year career, Magalas has tallied 1,141 points, 104 steals, and last year eclipsed the 100-assist mark by one. He was nominated to the OUA all-rookie team, was last year’s OUA second team all-star and a first team all-star this year.
Paris is just ahead of Magalas, with 1,157 points in his five years, 101 steals, and 50 blocks. Three seasons ago, he was an OUA first team all-star and for the past two seasons has been an OUA second team all-star.
Despite an injury-plagued fifth season, Snow managed to record 754 points, 434 rebounds, and 88 blocks during his five-year campaign. He was also nominated to the OUA all-rookie team with Magalas.
In only two seasons with the Blues, Sewell chalked up 377 points, 242 rebounds, 75 assists, 38 steals, and 23 blocks. Including his OCAA and CCAA awards, he was also a first team all-star at Fanshawe and OCAA tournament MVP.
Given the adversity these four athletes have dealt with, it’s quite easy to understand why they are so close. Each one knows how hard the others have had to work, and what trials they each had to overcome to get to where they are today. Through all the highs and lows, they have leaned on each other for support. They basked in the others’ triumphs and carried each other’s burdens, and in the end, have become stronger together.
“We’re all a big family,” said Paris.
“When I go out on the weekend, I call these guys,” added Magalas. “They’re not just my teammates, they’re my friends.”
I met up with the guys in U of T’s Benson Lounge for a little Q&A.
The Varsity: Which NBA player would you compare each other to?
Nick Magalas: I think [Orlando Magic’s] J.J. Redick would be a good comparison for Robbie.
Rob Paris: Nick Magalas plays a lot like [Milwaukee Buck] Brandon Jennings.
NM: [Denver Nugget] J.R. Smith for Sewell. They’re both crazy strong. [Toronto Raptor] Chris Bosh for Snow, very consistent jump shots for big men.
TV: What are you taking at U of T?
NM: Theology specialist.
Nick Snow: Phys. Ed.
Pat Sewell: Phys. Ed.
RP: Double major in Philosophy and Geography.
TV: Who would play whom in a movie?
NM: People say I look like Jake Gyllenhaal.
NS: Rob looks like the guy from the Apple commercials.
NM: Justin Long? I could see that.
RP: For Sewell it would have to be Jim Carrey.
PS: Who is the cartoon character chasing that rabbit around all the time?
TV: Elmer Fudd?
NS: Yes, that’s who would play Sewell.
TV: Out of the four of you, who is the best cook?
NS: Magalas, hands down.
NM: Yeah I make a mean tetrazzini, and I’m a pro on the barbecue.
PS: I just learned how to make mac ‘n’ cheese.
TV: What do you plan on doing when you finish school?
NM: I’m hoping to play pro overseas. I still have the itch to play, so I want to play as long as possible.
NS: I would like to get into sports administration.
RP: I plan on going to teacher’s college.
PS: If I graduate, I plan to be a teacher. If not, maybe a cop.
TV: Do you see any more basketball in your future?
PS: I would like to coach in a high school somewhere, especially if I’m teaching there.
NS: I would like to play a little longer. I used to ref, so I might get back into that.
RP: I would definitely like to coach, and hopefully at the highest level possible. It would be great to coach somewhere in the OUA.
TV: Who is the biggest joker?
RP: All four of us are jokers, so you can’t pick just one.
NM: You need to specify what kind of jokers.
NS: Sewell is the crazy one, Rob is the asshole, and Magalas has the cheesy jokes.
NM: And Snow is the inappropriate one.
RP: You don’t want to mess with Sewell and Snow because they’ll out-prank you a thousand times over.
NM: Sewell will just hurt you. You don’t prank with Snow and you don’t fight with Sewell.
TV: What are your best pranks?
PS: There’s too many. I can’t pick one.
NS: My buddy and I got two live trout and left them swimming around in this girl’s bathtub.
NM: I took [teammate Andrew] Wasik’s phone one time, and put his girlfriend’s name with my number. I spent the rest of the day messaging with him back and forth saying, ahem, inappropriate things.
NM: If you leave your drink at the dinner table, something’s going in there.
PS: Salt, ketchup, mustard, Caesar dressing, Diana sauce.
TV: What is your favourite food?
NM: The Bolognese or the Tetrazzini at Daddyo’s.
PS: Anything to do with Thanksgiving.
NM: You know how you have to throw out a chocolate bar that melts and is stuck to the wrapper and gross? Sewell will just eat it. Wrapper and all.
NS: I like steak. Delicious. And any kind of cheese.
RP: I like B.B.Ques.
TV: What is one word that describes each of you?
RP: Oh, forget this.
NS: Magalas would be “calm.”
NM: For Snow it would be “inappropriate.” But not like because he’s inappropriate, but more like, it’s Snow, he’s inappropriate.
NS: Sewell would be something like “goofy, crazy.”
NM: “Jovial.”
PS: Robbie would be “unreliable.”
TV: What would you be reincarnated as in your next life?
NS: An eagle or a dolphin.
NM: I can see Sewell coming back as a kangaroo.
PS: Robbie would be an anteater. Snow would be a gorilla, or a giraffe.
NM: Or a woolly mammoth.
RP: I would like to come back as a turtle.
PS: No, I like anteater.
TV: What’s your favourite drink?
NM: A nice pint, not bottle, of Hoegaarden.
PS: I can’t pick one. Canadian, Rickard’s White.
NS: A nice glass of grape juice, chilled to 3.7 degrees Celsius or a good Shirley Temple.
RP: Lucky Lager.
TV: What’s your idea of a perfect day?
NM: Skip class, come to the gym, and shoot around.
PS: I’d be on a dock, with a beer, calm water.
NM: Can I have two days?
RP: Playboy Mansion. No, wait, I’d go back to South Africa.
NM: Over the playboy mansion?
RP: Yeah.
TV: What was the name of your first pet?
NM: I had a dog named Popcorn.
PS: I had too many pets: seven dogs, two cats, 10 rabbits, two guinea pigs, a hamster, six birds, two Hermit crabs. They just kept having babies.
NS: I’ve never had a pet.
RP: You’ve never had a pet?! I’ve had a pet turtle.
