By Mark LaFrance
It was a crisp fall day in the birthplace of basketball, and
Brayden O'Connor's Notre Dame Catholic squad was up against it.
Traveling down from their native Ottawa to compete in a Springfield, Massachusetts basketball showcase, the school's guard heavy lineup could not contain a menacing center who was pummeling them with everything he had.
Something needed to change for the trailing Warriors, and O'Connor had an idea.
"Let me guard him," the then 6-foot-4-inch guard said to his coaching staff. "If I get hit in the face, I'm going to get hit. I don't care. I just want us to win the game."
O'Connor got as low as he could, bodied up the opposing big, and started to get his team stops.
But as the momentum started to change, O'Connor took a shot to the face and started bleeding everywhere.
As he was rushed off the court, he made a beeline for Notre Dame's athletic trainer.
"I told him he had to get me back in the game, because we had to win. I was relentless," O'Connor said "He super glued my lip shut, it was crazy. But I went back in and we won."
While all of this played out in the tiny Springfield gym, George Mason assistant coach Louis Hinnant, then on the staff at UMass-Lowell, watched intently.
He had made the short trip west on the Mass Pike to evaluate a different player, but O'Connor's tenacity quickly caught his eye.
"He was super vocal and playing so hard," Hinnant said. "At one timeout, his coach actually gave him the clipboard and Brayden started drawing up the next play himself. That's when my head coach [Pat Duquette] kicked me and said we had to start recruiting this kid."
O'Connor ultimately committed to UMass-Lowell, where he became known as a fierce competitor for one of the winningest mid-major programs in the country. Now, reunited with Coach Hinnant as he enters his first season at George Mason, O'Connor is looking to perfect that do-it-all mentality within the gauntlet of the Atlantic 10.
"He's just going to do whatever it takes to win and every game is going to be different," Hinnant said. "If we're getting killed on the glass, he'll go get a rebound. If we need him to guard the other team's best player, he'll do it. If we can't score, he'll go get a bucket. He doesn't go in with the intention of scoring this many points or guarding a certain guy. He's just going to do whatever the game dictates we need."
O'Connor's competitive spirit is a direct reflection of his life's journey from Canada to Fairfax.
Nothing has come easy and everything has been earned.
He grew up in a sports-crazed family, where any given day could include football, rugby, volleyball or soccer.
But from his earliest memories as a toddler, when he first held a basketball, O'Connor gravitated towards hoops. He knew it was the sport for him.
"I'm from a tough part of Ottawa, and playing basketball with my friends provided a distraction and an escape," O'Connor said. "I fell in love with the game and saw where it could take me. It motivated me to work as hard as I could to put my name out there and represent my family with pride."
O'Connor appreciated everyone who guided him throughout his childhood, and he made a promise to himself to always work his hardest to make a career in basketball, so he could give back to others in Ottawa the same way others helped him.
But as O'Connor approached the secondary school level and started playing the Canadian equivalent of AAU, he realized he was lacking the size and athleticism he needed to compete against top talent.
"I was just a shooter," O'Connor said. "I was talented enough, but if I wanted to take my game to the next level I needed to work on my body. So over the next three years, I was in the weight room non-stop. At the highest levels of basketball, you're going up against athletic freaks and monsters. I needed to be ready for that."
Even with all that time in the weight room, as he reached his senior season, O'Connor had no Division I offers. But rather than get frustrated, he once again used that whatever it takes mentality to keep going.
"I was working my butt off because I wanted a scholarship so badly," O'Connor said. "There was a point in the season where I just had to make something happen to fulfill my dream."
He needed a chance to showcase how much he could help a program with his intangibles, and after his gutty performance in Springfield, the UMass Lowell staff gave him that chance.
O'Connor joined the Riverhawks in summer 2022 and immediately displayed his elite work ethic. He would exert so much effort drills, that he often couldn't even complete them, because he'd slip in the sizable pool of sweat he'd create on the steamy summer court.
The staff started bringing three changes of gear to each practice, just so O'Connor could make it through his skill work.
"By the time you got 30 minutes into practice, there were puddles everywhere," Hinnant said. "He plays so hard and he was so wound up to get better. Once we got to winter in Massachusetts, it became a lot easier."
O'Connor's competitive drive was so strong, that it often proved to be a detriment during his first semester.
"I remember one game he was just fuming when he came off the court and he just couldn't move on to the next play," Hinnant said. "He wanted to win so badly. It's something he had to learn as a freshman. It cost him, because he'd let one bad play become a bad game, and then a bad week and so on."
O'Connor played just 9.4 minutes per game over his first 21 collegiate contests, which included eight DNPs. Coach Hinnant mentored him during those struggles and helped him develop a next play mentality.
"When I wasn't playing in the first half of the season, I knew I needed to change," O'Connor said. "I decided I was going to throw my pride aside. I was going do whatever had to be done to help our team and it just took off from there. I was willing to do the dirty work and anything the coaches asked of me."
O'Connor's minutes soared to 19.3/contest over the final 13 games for a talented Riverhawks squad which won a school-record 26 games and went a perfect 17-0 at home. They hit the 20+ win plateau for the first time in school history and became the first UMass Lowell squad to reach the America East Championship game.
Hinnant left for George Mason in the offseason, but O'Connor stuck around and put together a breakout season. After making zero starts as a freshman, he started all 33 games as a sophomore while averaging career highs in scoring (9.9 ppg), rebounds (3.8 rpg), assists (2.2 apg), steals (30) and 3pt percentage (.357). What's more, his lock down defense boosted the Riverhawks to another 20+ win season and another appearance in the America East Championship game.
O'Connor linked the Riverhawks' success, which included wins over Dayton, George Washington and UMass over his two seasons in Lowell, to the team's collective spirit.
"So many of our players were recruited by Coach Lou and he really values guys who embrace an underdog mentality," O'Connor said. "We all were willing to put in the work to become pros and our coaching staff created a family environment. We accomplished everything together."
After the 2023-24 season, O'Connor readied himself for the next challenge. He put his name in the transfer portal and drew interest from schools across the country.
As he went through the process, O'Connor kept coming back to how much he learned from Hinnant. The opportunity to reunite and further develop his game in the A-10 ultimately made O'Connor's decision for him.
"I had a lot of offers, but it came down to where I felt most comfortable," O'Connor said. "Coach Lou is unique in that he always keeps it real. He is always honest about what you need to do better and he does it in a way that's not judgmental. That's why I really enjoy being around him. He can help me take my game and my life to the next level."
As O'Connor embarks on his first summer with the Patriots, he's looking to become more adept on ball, while improving his handle and developing into a more efficient scorer. He's also striving to elevate his defensive game to better anticipate opponent tendencies.
During his first few weeks in Fairfax, he has also enjoyed developing relationships with the Patriots' returning student-athletes and is excited to work each day alongside them.
"Darius has played in March Madness and Jared made a similar jump from Siena to becoming a starter at George Mason," O'Connor said. "They've told me how much they like my game and how much I can help our team. They know what we need to do every day to win at this level and make a run."
The level of basketball may have changed for O'Connor, but his goals of playing professionally and giving back to his community remain the same.
And to achieve those goals, he'll continue to embrace the attitude that's served him well throughout his basketball life.
"I think AAU and media has created this philosophy that if you're not the guy, you can't make it, O'Connor said. "I don't think that's true. As long as I just keep my head down, stay humble and stay hungry, I'm going to be able to find success. I don't think that's something that's ever changed for me and I don't think it ever will."
