Tim Legler

Tim Legler

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SPRING 2020

asketball just wrapped up at Saint Mary’s Catholic School. During the season, on most weekdays you’d find at least one team of players practicing in the gym for a weekend game. Today’s Saint Mary’s ballers are part of a basketball program that’s existed at Saint Mary’s almost as long as the school has been around. Saint Mary’s basketball has benefited hundreds of children, and has helped launch one NBA career – so far.

Saint Mary’s 1980 graduate Tim Legler came to Saint Mary’s for seventh grade, after moving from Baltimore to Richmond. The move was a tough one, since he left many friends behind.

“The people I met in seventh grade at Saint Mary’s were really the first new friends in Richmond for me,” Legler said. “Saint Mary’s was special to me because it really helped me get over the sadness of moving … I think the small setting of a private school really helped me feel welcome and comfortable. “It was also at Saint Mary’s that I started to play basketball for the first time, at recess,” he said.

Legler is an ESPN analyst today.

Discovering the drive Legler remembers Saint Mary’s basketball program being the first time he’d participated in the sport in an organized fashion. He said he was more interested in baseball till then, but in eighth and ninth grades he grew roughly seven inches, “and decided to give hoops a try.”

That SMCS beginning led Legler on toward a stellar career that included 10 seasons in the NBA.

After graduating from Saint Mary’s, Legler went on to attend John Randolph Tucker High School in Richmond. Invitation Tournament championship game as well as the 1988 NCAA Tournament.

Legler went undrafted in the 1988 NBA draft and went to play basketball in Europe. After a few seasons there, he came back to the U.S. and played in the Continental Basketball Association with the Omaha Racers. He helped Omaha to a CBA championship while leading the league in scoring.

Three-point wiz Legler played in the NBA at the shooting guard position from 1989 to 2000. He is probably best known as a player in Washington, where he played four seasons – two with the Washington Bullets and two with the renamed Washington Wizards – from 1995 to 1999.

Legler is well known as an accurate three-point shooter, and made 260 of his 604 attempts from that range in his career, an accuracy of 43%. This figure ranks fifth on the all-time list.

“My three point shooting developed in high school as I worked tirelessly to perfect my shooting mechanics and shooting range,” Legler said.

Dad points Legler said his favorite team to play on was the 1995-96 Washington Bullets.

“It was my best year in the NBA,” he said. “I led the league in three-point shooting, won the Three Point Shootout at All Star Weekend, I had great friends on that team and my favorite coach, Jimmy Lynam.

“One cool thing from that season:” he said, “my daughter Lauren was born around 10 days before I won the Three Point Shootout, and I took the $20,000 prize and put it into a college fund for her. Two years ago she graduated

“I think people started to realize basketball could be something special for me between tenth and eleventh grade,” Legler said. “I fell completely in love with the game and loved the fact that I didn’t need to rely on anyone else to practice.”

Powered by passion “I had an intense work ethic, so once I developed the passion for the game I really improved dramatically pretty quickly, and by my junior year at Tucker I was one of the best players in Richmond,” he said. “By my senior year I was an all-state player.

“The realization that I had a talent and a passion for it gave me a very clear vision on what my ultimate goal would be so I could really focus on making my dreams come true,” Legler said.

Team spirit During his time in the NBA, Legler also played for the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors. His career ended due to a recurring knee problem.

“The best part about playing in the NBA is the relationship that you build with your teammates,” he said. “There is so much pressure to win as a pro that the feeling of running onto the court with a group of guys who are going to battle with you and support you is a great feeling. The adrenaline rush of hitting a big shot in front of 20,000 people is pretty awesome, too. GPA in elementary education. She’s currently a secondgrade teacher in New Jersey, Legler said.

His son, Ryan, is 20 years old and currently playing basketball at Rowan University as a junior. He’s got a 3.6 GPA as a business major.

Legler’s wife, Christina, is from Allentown, Penn. She was a Philadelphia Eagles cheerleader for five seasons. She’s also coached cheerleading at Clearview High School in Mullica Hill, N.J., and led them to a national championship two years ago.

“The part people don’t see that’s tough is traveling and being away from your family,” he said.

Beyond the court Legler is now in his 19 th season at ESPN as an NBA analyst, where he breaks down the NBA on all the various ESPN platforms on TV and radio at the main ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut. He said he usually works two to three days a week during the regular season, and most days of the playoffs from mid-April through mid-June. He also hosts an NBA radio show two to three days a week on Sirius XM NBA radio.

“I’ve been blessed that the game of basketball has given me the opportunity to not only travel all over the country, but all over the world,” he said. “It has given me so much interaction with different people and perspectives, and I’ve made lifelong friends with people in virtually every place I’ve traveled or lived.”

Home away from home Though his career has taken him all over, Legler said Richmond will always be the place he considers home, because he moved to Richmond at such a formative time in his life.

“I ‘grew up’ there,” he said. Legler said that his mom, sister, nieces and nephew are all local to Richmond, and his late father is laid to rest in Richmond. His high school basketball coach, Ralph Crockett, is still in Richmond, as well as a lot of high school friends. He’s very close to his family, and loves to come back to see them.

“The people are always so warm and friendly,” he said. “It’s just easy to be there.”

Likewise Saint Mary’s: “One of the things I remember from Saint Mary’s was how we had to set up the chairs for Mass or assembly in the gym and that meant there were times we couldn’t shoot baskets in there! I also just remember how much the teachers cared about us and how much it felt like a second home to us.”

Ball in the family Legler is proud of his children, who live near him in New Jersey. His daughter, Lauren, is 23 and was a 1,000-point scorer at Neumann University in Aston, Penn. She was also an All-Academic member and graduated with a 3.9

Spring 2020 Legler and his wife Christina, son Ryan (20) and daughter Lauren (23).

Dedicate yourself Together, the Leglers are huge dog lovers and dog rescue advocates. They have five dogs, one of which was adopted from Richmond three years ago.

Legler said he loves to spend time with his wife, kids, and dogs. He enjoys playing golf, traveling, going to movies and decorating for and celebrating Halloween (he and his wife are famous among their friends and neighbors for their Halloween shenanigans).

Advice from Legler for todays’ Monarchs? “My main advice to young people who want to know how to make their dreams come true: find something that you truly love, dedicate yourself to exploring your potential in that area – never consider the time you put in as ‘work’ – think of it always at time spent doing what you love and investing your time in your future success. You must have the ability to overcome adversity and setbacks. It will prove how much it means to you to succeed.

Choose joy Legler’s advice for all of us?

“Cherish your families, faith and close friends,” he said. “Believe in yourself because each of us has special talents and skills. Stay true to what you believe is right.

“Don’t dwell on mistakes or failures,” Legler said. “Learn from them and look ahead to the next day, the next challenge, the next opportunity. And, finally, happiness is a choice – it’s a positive mindset that anyone can have.