By Wil Crews
sportscrews@opelikaobserver.com
Opelika High School senior Ant McGuire signed a basketball scholarship with Huntington College on Thursday.
The 6-foot-1-inch shooting guard averaged 17 points, four assist and four rebounds per game for OHS in 2020-21, according to ncsasports.org.
“He’s put in his work, so I’m very proud of him,” said McGuire’s mom.
McGuire, who is also a talented track athlete for OHS, received a thunderous ovation from his peers when he officially signed for the Hawks.
“It means everything,” McGuire said of that moment. “I wasn’t expecting to be here, but it was a long grind.”
Opelika Varsity Boys’ interim head coach Wesley Button was “super proud” of McGuire and spoke on what kind of leader and teammate he has been for the Bulldogs.
“The adversity that this team had to go through this year with COVID and you know different coaching changes and things like that, he was one of the leaders who everyone looked to when we really didn’t know what was going to happen as far as our season goes,” Button said. “He stayed consistent the whole year; he was our rock on defense; and he’s just a fantastic kid.”
Button continued to praise McGuire for the tangible skillset that he possesses as a player.
“He’s going to play extremely hard every possession — defensively, he’s fantastic,” Button added. “He’s one of the best on-ball defenders we’ve had in a long time and he can really shoot the ball. He’s just a high energy guy. He’s going to give you all that he’s got all the time.”
A man of few words, McGuire was humble in receiving his well-earned recognition. When explaining what Huntington fans should expect to be getting from him, McGuire said in a straightforward tone, “a lot.”