Buzzer beater

Mike Helsby was coming to terms with the possibility that it might be time to give up on his dream. Two years removed from his playing days at Sir John A. Macdonald Secondary School, Helsby was starting to doubt that he'd achieve his goal of competing at the university level. He'd even started to dabble in coaching, lending a hand at Waterloo Collegiate Institute during this year's Waterloo County high school season. And then Adams State College came calling. The NCAA Division 2 school -- located in Alamosa, Colo. -- invited the six-foot-five Helsby to a three-day tryout in April. The Grizzlies had eight roster spots to fill for the 2009-10 season, and head coach Mark Murdock had seen enough of Helsby on tape to know that he wanted to witness firsthand what the former Waterloo County all-star in both basketball and football had to offer. Despite struggling physically with the 7,500-foot altitude, Helsby nailed his audition and came home with a three-year scholarship deal that will see him compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for the next three years. His dream came true. "I'm excited, nervous, unsure what it will be like, but very, very happy that I get to play basketball again," said Helsby, 20, who played a key role in SJAM's fourth-place finish at the Ontario senior boys championships in 2007. "It's a massive relief . . . a validation of what I've been doing for the past two years." Helsby took an unusual path to Adams State, a school with a student population of less than 1,400 undergrads that is located in south central Colorado between Denver and Albuquerque, N.M. He attended the University of Waterloo this past year after going to Wilfrid Laurier University in 2007-08. He tried out for the varsity squads at both schools but failed to catch on with either. Still, he never gave up. He put in long hours in the gym over the last two years, and with the help of his father Garry, a teacher at Conestogo Public School, continued to contact schools in hopes of getting his chance. Helsby credits others with helping along the way, including his mother Pauline, WCI coach Craig Nickel and UW assistant coach Curtis Dauber. The Adams State audition was anything but a slam-dunk. He really did have to prove himself and he had to do it in what he was told to be the North America's second highest gymnasium in terms of elevation. "So in addition to just being nervous about trying out in the first place, you have to deal with the fact that you really can't breathe. It feels like an elephant is sitting on your chest," said Helsby, a strong outside shooter who averaged 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists per game in his final year at SJAM. Helsby expects he'll be coming off the bench this season for the Grizzlies, a team that obviously hopes to improve on last season's 4-23 won-lost record playing against schools primarily from Colorado, Nebraska and New Mexico. "He can do it all and he's a nice young man from a good family," said Murdock of Helsby. "He's the type of player we like in terms of size and ability." Helsby, who will study English and history on his way to what he hopes will be a career in teaching, will be considered a sophomore based on NCAA eligibility rules and transfer policies. He will head for Colorado in mid-August for training camp and the regular season starts in mid-September. "I'm right back into it, training as hard as I ever have," said Helsby. "I expect there to be an adjustment period but I expect big things of myself and am really looking forward to it." mbryson@therecord.com