Campus Magnet High School hosted a special basketball tournament featuring several teams from schools across Queens and the other parts of New York City in honor of the Cambria Heights school’s legendary late basketball coach Charles “Chuck” Granby on Saturday, Nov. 15.
Known as the “Thanksgiving Holiday Classic,” the tournament has been held annually by the school since Granby first started it in 1974, back when Campus Magnet High School, located at 207-01 116th Ave., was known as Andrew Jackson High School.
This year’s event featured a middle school matchup between the Queens Defenders and the Hoops Troop. Participating high schools in the Thanksgiving Holiday Classic, also known as the “Coach Granby Thanksgiving Showcase Tournament,” included Springfield Gardens High School, Jamaica High School, August Martin High School, the Mott Haven Campus High School, Far Rockaway High School, Beacon High School in Manhattan, Benjamin Banneker High School and John Bowne High School.
The Campus Magnet High School basketball team took part in a JV game against the Mott Haven Campus High School, as well as a varsity game against Hillcrest High School.
Granby spent over 45 years coaching the Campus Magnet High School basketball team, winning 722 games and leading them to 42 Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL) playoff appearances, 27 division titles, 7 Queens titles and 1 PSAL championship. Under his leadership, the team went undefeated at home from 1972 to 1985.
“We’re just trying to honor [Granby’s] name and continue the tradition of Campus Magnet of turning out great ball players, great students and great people. A lot of great people have come through this school that a lot of people don’t realize,” Campus Magnet High School Varsity Basketball Coach Eric Barnett said. “I hope, if we continue tradition and keep a lot of the legacy, one day, they could be that type of person that impacts their community, like Coach Granby.”
Just seven months after Granby died at the age of 81 in March 2016, he was posthumously honored with the corner of Francis Lewis Boulevard and 116th Way named after him. The school’s gym was also renamed after him in January 2017.
Robyn Granby-Poole, the daughter of Coach Charles Granby, was on hand for this year’s tournament to watch the kids from local schools compete.
“He was blessed to have talent fall in his hands and be able to achieve the most wins in the PSL,” Granby-Poole said. “But the focus was how many of his players he could get into college.”
Other notable attendees included Coach Granby’s niece Benita Overton, Assemblymember Clyde Vanel, Council Member Nantasha Williams and Trevor Portwine, the captain of the 1984-1985 championship team.
“It means so very much he’s still impacting lives, because this is an activity that these young people can look forward to, and it’s something that he believed in completely,” Overton said. “It led to them being able to believe in themselves, to be able to go to college.”
“This is about not only basketball, but about life and making sure that the athletes participate in a great tournament,” Vanel said. “Basketball is like the game of life. They teach you about teamwork, about working together, about paying attention and respecting your elders, respecting the coach and the coaching staff.”
“Every year, I get invited to honor Coach Granby, who is truly a legend in our community,” Williams said. “This event is just a reminder of the greatness in this community and how we will continue to pour into our young people by way of sports and athletics.”
