Coach Reaches Milestone, Earns 600th Victory

Every year, Campus Magnet Coach Charles Granby takes his team out to dinner a few times. This year, he revealed, they plan on returning the favor to celebrate the longtime coach’s 600th career win.
Inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame last January, Granby, in his 37th season manning the Campus Magnet sideline, has made a difference in the lives of countless young men who’ve attended the Cambria Heights school. He’s always focused on educating his players not on just basketball, which may well be his legacy.
“His main goal is for us to get our SAT scores up, so we can go to college,” said starting senior center Keith McAllister. “Every day, he’s asking us ‘are you doing well in your classes? Make sure to get your grades up, get the highest score you can, participate in class.’ ”
Granby, who graduated from Morris High School in the Bronx and went on to win an NIT championship with Bradley University in 1960, got a job at Andrew Jackson High School (now Campus Magnet) in 1969 as a physical education teacher and basketball coach.
Over the years he was interviewed twice at Bradley for the coaching position, but remained at Campus Magnet.
“This is the place I should’ve been,” said Granby, who wanted to thank Assemblywoman Barbara Clark and local Reverend Henry Simmons of the St. Albans Congregation, who’ve both helped fund the team’s trips over the years. This season they will travel to Virginia for the Martin Luther King Jr. Tournament. “I have no regrets. Most of the people around here, I know their children. We all go to church together. It’s been very gratifying. This was never work for me. Coaching has always been a pleasure, that’s why I still enjoy it.”
Granby, whose record currently stands at 602-145, won his only city championship in 1985; he reached the city championship three other times in 1981, 1982 and 1984; and he’s also won six borough titles. His teams have qualified for post-season play 33 of his 36 full seasons.
Still, Granby preferred to deflect the accolades.
“There’s no secret to this game,” he said. “If you have good players, you have a damn good chance of winning.”