Summer Spotlight: Matt O'Neill, Men's Basketball and Soccer
Matt O'Neill has been a key contributor to both the men's basketball and soccer teams over his first two seasons. On the hardwood, the guard from St. Edmund Prep averaged 10.3 points per game in 25 starts. His 2.56 steals per game placed him No. 16 across Division III this season and he currently ranks fifth all-time in total steals in Bears history and is on pace to climb to No. 3 at the end of this season. On the pitch, O'Neill was an AD3I First Team All-Independent selection as a midfielder tied for second best on the team in points (7) and helping on a team-leading five assists.
O'Neill is one of five siblings to attend St. Joseph's, each making a strong presence in athletics. His sister Kathleen '05, a three-sport athlete and USCAA All-American, enters her seventh year as the head coach of the women's volleyball team and fourth year as assistant coach of the men's volleyball team. His other sister Kaitlin '07 was a two-sport standout on the women's softball and basketball teams and a former All-HVWAC selection while sister Kerri '06 also played on the women's volleyball team.
About you
I came to St. Joseph's because…
Coach Cocozello spoke to my high school coach about me and was interested in having me play for St. Joseph's Basketball program and coach Vadim [Chernyakhovsky] also recruited me as well to play soccer. Another factor that played into my decision was that three of my sisters graduated from St. Joe's and one sister was currently a freshman.
Your major…
Business
Career goals after graduation…
I want to begin working towards earning my own business in the future.
My dream job is…
I would love to play basketball overseas but if that does not work out, I will one day own my own business.
Summer plans…
I started the summer working at the St. Joseph's fitness center but now I have started a job working with the New York City Parks Department.
On being a Bear...
Best moment in a Bears uniform…
There are two moments with my team that stand out the most over the past two years. The first was beating Patchogue at home this past year. The way our crowd got into the game really made this win even better than the year before and left me with goose bumps. The second moment was obviously winning the HVIAC Championship this year after falling short last year. We worked too hard not to win it all this year.
Pre-game rituals or superstitions…
My pre-game ritual is that I always pray to God three times and thank Him for all he has done for me and tell Him to take care of my loved ones and friends. One superstition of mine is if I am playing well I will let my hair grow and if I go into a slump I will get a haircut right away.
My pump up song before a game is…
The Thrill by Wiz Khalifa
Favorite road trip so far…
Any road trip that we played Apples to Apples on was great. We always argued about who should get the green card.
Favorite place to eat on team trips…
Cracker Barrel and their great biscuits. And that they have checkers to play while waiting for your food. (Beat Dave Louison twice btw)
My goal(s) for next season is/are to…
My team goals are to have a better record than we did this past season and to win the HVIAC Championship two years in a row. Also to make it back to the USCAA tournament and further than we did my freshman year. It was a great experience that I would love for me and my brothers to experience again. My personal goals are to get better in every category from last year and improve my overall game.
On being social media famous…
Twitter or Facebook?
Number of…
Twitter followers: 214
Facebook friends: 1,733
Instagram followers: 569
The most likes you've received on an Instagram photo and what was the photo of?
I got 131 likes from my picture of me at half court of the Barclay Center holding the 3's up.
True or false? I overuse hashtags.
False
Your favorites…
Favorite sports team(s)…
NBA: New York Knicks
MLB: New York Yankees
NFL: New York Giants
NHL: New York Rangers
Favorite professional athlete (past or present) …
I have two favorite professional athletes, Steve Nash and Lebron James.
Favorite TV show…
Saved by the Bell
Favorite SJC Staff member…
THE ONE AND ONLY KYLE GOODHART.
Favorite quote/motto…
"I like criticism. It makes you strong." -Lebron James
Final thoughts…
Anything you'd like to share with all the fans out there …
I want to thank all the fans that come to our games all the time. Through thick and thin you guys have always been there for us. Whether it's us playing bad teams when it's really boring to sit there and watch or us having a bad game and disappointing you guys with a loss we appreciate it. It is obviously easy to watch us when we are playing our best, but all of you come and support us no matter what. I say "we" as in my brothers on and off the court and our great coaching staff because we do it for you. Thank you to all the other sport teams as well for coming down to watch us play, we really do appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts.
Previous Summer Spotlights:
David Louison, Men's Basketball
Anna Carbone, Women's Volleyball and Swimming
Kyle Johnson, Men's Soccer and Tennis
Morgan Summers, Women's Swimming and Softball
Vinny Rossi, Baseball and Men's Soccer
Shannon Rom, Women's Soccer, Softball and Swimming
Matt O'Neill, Men's Basketball and Soccer
Our Summer Spotlight feature runs on Mondays and Thursdays. Check back on Monday, August 4th for our next Spotlight
and don't forget to follow our summer Top 10 list every Tuesday!