Not unlike many of his fellow St. Ed’s graduates, Nick Duncan was torn between two very fine institutions of higher learning when the time came to make the final cut.
The young man was obviously having difficulty deciding between Boston College and the University of Richmond, but Nick finally decided that the best option for him was to become a Richmond Spider.
Regardless of what the ultimate choice was, heading off to college was destined to be a big change for a St. Ed’s lifer, although Nick uses another term to describe his years as a Pirate.
“I consider myself a true die-hard. Die-hards are kids who come to St. Ed’s in kindergarten and first grade. But the true die-hards are the kids who have been here since pre-K. I’ve been here since day one.”
That would total 14 years at St. Ed’s. The Duncan family moved to Vero Beach a year earlier from Boston. The four years he spent in Boston as a toddler hardly register on the memory meter. Nick proudly says, “I’ve lived in Vero for 15 years, so I’ve been here for my entire life.”
At various times Nick has been a member of the varsity basketball, tennis, weightlifting and lacrosse teams in high school. It took some experimentation and soul-searching before he found the optimum niche in which to display his athletic talents.
“I’ve been playing tennis for a long as I can remember, but I kind of got burned out after playing on the varsity team my freshman year,” Nick said. “Around that time I had a bunch of good friends on the basketball team. Wanting to play with them and be with them more often really attracted me to joining the basketball team. And I enjoyed playing basketball as well, so that was a big bonus.”
While misfortune befell St. Ed’s tennis team in losing a rising star, the hoops team welcomed a guard capable of directing the offense, playing stout perimeter defense, and draining an occasional outside shot. It took a while, though. He would toil on the Junior Varsity for two seasons, working hard to hone his skills. He spent a lot of time on the varsity bench as a junior before becoming a team captain and starter this past season.
It was all about finding a group bonding experience that was not inherent in an individual sport like tennis. Nick admitted that, “It was hard at first, but as the basketball season went on, I got further away from tennis. Then it got a little easier and I haven’t really looked back since.
“The camaraderie and brotherhood that you develop in team sports, where you’re working hard every day, putting your blood, sweat and tears into something with the same guys, that really builds something special. Those bonds are something that I’m always going to remember.
“There is no greater feeling than digging deep to come out of a deficit and win a game, or hitting a big-time shot with your teammates there to support you. When one of your teammates hits a big-time shot, you almost feel as if you hit it yourself. The friendships and memories that I made along the way will be with me forever.”
Nick recalled two late game clinchers that he orchestrated while on the JV. As a freshman his steal in the final seconds sealed a two-point win over Holy Trinity Episcopal. The next year he hit a floater with two seconds left to knock off Lincoln Park Academy by a point.
As a senior Nick scored at a 3.3 ppg clip despite averaging only about three shots per game for the entire season. Statistics were the last thing on his mind as St. Ed’s won a district playoff game for the first time in a decade and finished 16-10. In two varsity seasons, Nick contributed to Pirate teams that went 39-15.
His senior year was marred by the January death of 20 year old St. Ed’s graduate and assistant coach Darell Flowers. Nick was particularly close to Darell, telling us, “I don’t think any of us were really expecting it. We got the word on our Senior Night and it was really tough.
“But for the rest of the rest of the season it took the spotlight away from us. From that point on we were playing for Darell. That’s how I looked at it anyway. It gave us a reason to work even harder, because had he been there, that’s what he would have done.”
Nick’s tribute to Darell carried over to the lacrosse season. He switched to Darell’s customary No. 5 to “play with him on my chest and honor him in that way.”
Nick sees club or intramural sports as a possibility at Richmond. He doesn’t have to immediately decide on a major, although he is leaning toward a business curriculum.
“The lessons and information that I have picked up at St. Ed’s have shaped who I am,” Nick said. “I love it here. This is like my second home.”
A family vacation is on tap for the summer. Nick also got a word to the wise from his parents. “They are telling me that I need to find some kind of work for the summer, so I guess I have to do something like that.”
