Adrian Corbin has been named as co-captain of the varsity basketball team at LaSalle Academy High School, a member of the Catholic High Schools Athletic Association.
Corbin completed three years of basketball at LaSalle, based in Manhattan, where he showed that he has the ability to help lead the Cardinals into a successful season and into the playoffs, with a chance of taking all the marbles in their division. The other co-captain is Brian Bass, who can do the same.
Corbin’s role also on the basketball court is to provide good defense and energy to the team. He can also play either the guard or forward positions.
Last year, the Cardinals played under .500 basketball. Now the team feels confident that this group of players can turn that record around with the additional year of experience from the holdovers. Corbin paced the team with about five assists a game last year.
Adrian is the son of Matthew and Charlene Corbin both natives of Trinidad & Tobago.
In fact, Adrian travels to Trinidad once in a while, for he goes down south during his winter break in February from school just to catch up with his family and for a vacation as he keeps in touch with them.
“To be captain means that I have to be a leader on and off the basketball court,” the 5’ 10” swing man said. “To be a leader means that I have to set a role for the students behind me. They have to follow their goals as they grow older and mature.”
One member of his family was quite a bit active in sports at one time.
“My dad played soccer when he was younger and for his whole high school career in Trinidad,” he recalled. “But injuries forced him to give it up. He played striker and some times midfield. My mother and father attended college in Trinidad.
Matthew comes to all of his son’s basketball games and would talk to his son before game time.
“Before a game starts, my father would tell me to be aggressive, take the shots and be a team player,” the student athlete said.
As a freshman, Adrian tried out for the basketball team, made the team, and fell in love with the sport, as he explained. He never played basketball before his freshman year. Before coming to LaSalle, he did not know anything about the school or basketball.
After he got into LaSalle, he found out that past students from the school went on to play in the National Basketball Association. He found out about Ron Artest, Shammgod Wells and Dick McGuire making the pro ranks.
In addition to basketball, he has been playing baseball for this school as well as ‘outside’ and summer league ball. In the spring he will be playing in his fourth year of baseball at LaSalle.
“As for basketball, I would go pro, if it is at all possible,” added the 17-year-old Corbin, who is first seeking a college education. “If I had a choice between baseball or basketball scholarships, I would go for baseball because I’ve played it longer,” said Corbin.
He credits his coaches at LaSalle for his sports career as they helped him a great deal in baseball, basketball and academics.
For his immediate concern, he has to work more on his scoring on the basketball court. “We’ll try to go far this year,” said Corbin.
