Former Ursinus Star McGarvey Headed to Philly Small College Hall of Fame

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- The Philadelphia Small College Coaches Association Hall of Fame inducts its 2015 class this evening at a ceremony on the campus of the University of the Sciences. This year's class features three people: former Swarthmore Head Coach Lee Wimberly, former NAIA All-American from Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (now University of the Sciences) Marc Tacelosky and one of the greatest players in the history of Ursinus College basketball, Mike McGarvey.

McGarvey is currently an assistant coach under Matt Langel at Colgate University. He says getting honored for his time as a star guard for the Division III Bears is very special.

"It brings back some really good memories of some great teams and certainly my great teammates who were very, very good over the four years that I was a player," McGarvey tells KYW Newsradio. "And my coaches, giving me the opportunity and putting me in position to be successful."

Listen: Mike McGarvey with KYW's Matt Leon

McGarvey graduated in 2006 after scoring 1,460 points (fourth all-time in school history) and dishing out 754 assists, which is still the top total in program history. He was a two-time Centennial Conference Player of the Year and a member of three conference championship teams.

"The first thing that comes back (when thinking about playing career) is the ability to be a champion," McGarvey says. "As I've made a profession here in coaching over the last nine years or so, I know how hard it is to win a single game, let alone win a championship. A collective group of guys and coaches that are all together for one common bond and one team, build some great friendships over the wins and losses of a season or over the four years of a career, those are the things that I start to think about. And remembering how incredible it was to be able to be a championship team. Even to this day, the friendships that I've had because of basketball and the places that I've been able to go, my best friends to this day and the guys who were in my wedding and I was in their wedding, enjoying in their successes, is partly because of what we were doing together as undergraduates and student-athletes."

McGarvey just completed his fourth season as an assistant coach at Colgate. Prior to that he served as an assistant at his alma mater under head coach Kevin Small. He says he knew even before stepping on the court in Collegeville that he eventually wanted to get into coaching, and it actually became a key selling point when he was bring recruited as a player.

"When I was going through the process as a high school senior and trying to find out that right fit, one of the things that I talked to Coach Small (about) was I want to go Division I because I want to be a Division I basketball coach," McGarvey says. "The first name that came out of Coach Small's mouth was (new Penn head coach) Steve Donahue and that he's an Ursinus grad and he's a Division I basketball coach and that you can do it from all different levels. So I've kind of always had that seed planted about wanting to be a coach when I was done playing and being able to give back to some of the student athletes what I was able to receive in the coaching that I've had over the course of my life."

The other inductees tonight also bring impressive resumes to the table. Lee Wimberly is the winningest coach in Swarthmore men's basketball history, with 184 victories. Marc Tacelosky ranks in the Devils' all-time top ten in several categories including scoring,  rebounds, blocked shots, and steals.

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.