By Danny Brady
Garyn Bess, a 6-foot-1 guard for the Springfield College men’s basketball team, may be a first-year student, but he brings experience that none of his older teammates have: Competing at the Basketball Hall of Fame’s Spalding Hoophall Classic.
Hoophall is a five day high school basketball showcase event that takes place the week before second semester kicks off. Many of the top Men’s and Women’s high school basketball teams compete at Springfield College’s Blake Arena. Some of the brightest current NBA stars have taken part in the event, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson and more.
Bess played both with and against the most prolific high school basketball players in the country last season, as a member of the powerhouse Christopher Columbus (Miami, Fla.). His teammates included Cameron Boozer, the second overall recruit in the 2025 class according to ESPN. Bess’ time at Columbus included a trip to Hoophall, where he clashed with Bronny James, a 2023 ESPN top-20 recruit and the older son of LeBron James and 2023 ESPN top 50 recruit Mikey Williams, who has over four million Instagram followers.
“When you walk on the court you look around and it’s just straight people,” Bess said of playing at Hoophall. “There’s people in the bleachers, people standing up on the sides, under the basket. There’s cameras everywhere.”
Bess did more than just make the roster at Columbus; he started as a junior and senior coupled with being a key factor in the team’s success in both of those years. Bess averaged 9.3 points and 2.2 assists per game on 47% shooting as a junior and he scored six key points in a narrow 45-44 win over Dr. Phillips that earned Columbus its first FHSAA Class 7A basketball state championship, the highest Division in Florida.
Despite contributing as a junior, Bess felt that he could raise his game to a higher level, especially in big games with a large crowd and a national spotlight.
“My junior year, it got to me at first,” Bess said. “I was nervous and thinking about stuff too much… but eventually I got better with my confidence and learning how to play, and reading people how they play.”
The mental improvements that came with these experiences helped Bess improve physically on the court. As a senior he averaged 9.6 points and 2.8 assists per game on 48% shooting – and he stepped up when his team needed it most.
Columbus was looking to repeat as state champions last year when it faced off against Winter Haven High School, which came in with a 27-5 overall record riding a 12-game win streak.
The second state championship game had even greater magnitude.
“We had more people come out the second time,” Bess said. “We had family, friends, supporters … we had everybody at the game.”
The game more than lived up to the hype.
In a tie game, Winter Haven had the ball with under 30 seconds left and took a timeout to talk things over. What happened after the timeout is something that Bess will remember for the rest of his life.
“In my head I was thinking: ‘Just play as hard as I can and try to get a stop…’, ” he said. “I saw it was me and my teammate [Malik Abdullahi] up top. We were probably the best on-ball defenders on the team so I was like, ‘Okay we’re gonna get up, pressure them and try to get a turnover.’”
That is exactly what happened. With the clock winding down, Bess dove for the ball and broke up an attempted pass, which led to a steal by Abdullahi. He found Bess wide open cutting toward the right side of the hoop for a layup that he scored with about six seconds left.
After Bess scored, the clock continued to wind and the final seconds turned into a mad scramble that resulted in West Haven failing to get a shot off in part due to Bess and Abdullahi’s full-court pressure and heavy contest.
“The vibes I got after the game were way better the second time, and I played pretty well in the game, according to everyone,” Bess said.
Bess finished with 11 points on 57 percent shooting in Columbus’ 50-48 win over Winter Haven to win back-to-back state championships.
Despite playing in numerous “big games” in his high school career which included two state championships, the atmosphere at Hoophall was unlike anything he had ever experienced.
“We felt more pressure – especially in the second game, when we played Bronny, which was crazy – but eventually we got the hang of it,” Bess said.
Bess also got to visit the Basketball Hall of Fame and meet Springfield men’s basketball head coach Michael McClendon for the first time in person during Hoophall.
“He’s a straightforward person and a really good coach,” Bess said. “He doesn’t sugarcoat anything.”
McClendon and his staff were interested in Bess well before Hoophall so they were able to use the event to recruit Bess.
“The first time [I heard of Garyn] was through my assistant at the time, who sent me his highlight film. I thought he was skilled and quick. He sparked our interest and we needed to see more of him live,” McClendon said.
“Hoophall was not primarily a recruiting tool for us at first but once we noticed there are good players on teams that may not garner high-level Division I college interest then we sought out those players.”
Bess was one of those players. His visit to Hoophall helped him build closer relationships with McClendon and his staff and learn more about the school.
“I got to meet the coaching staff and I also found out that this was the birthplace of basketball, which was pretty nice,” Bess said.
When Bess arrived on Alden Street, he wasn’t alone. His older brother, Gary, joined him as well. The 6’6 forward played at Kansas City Kansas Community College last season, averaging 10.1 points per game. Gary’s addition to the Pride has helped Garyn as he learns to navigate college, and basketball at the collegiate level for the first time.
“He has more experience with college basketball and college in general so if I ever had a person that I need to go to to ask about something he would probably be the first person,” Garyn said.
Now that Gary is a junior, he has been able to experience some of the differences between high school and collegiate basketball first-hand.
“[In high school] there is a lot less structure,” Gary said. “Talented guys just get a high ball screen and do whatever they want. In college there’s more structure and more plays…Also, the speed of play is slower. High school is more up and down.”
Garyn played a major role in Gary’s decision to attend Springfield. They have never played on the same team at the competitive level before this year and he feels like their games complement each other well on the court.
“I’m in my final years of school and I’ve always wanted to play with my brother on some type of platform,” Gary said. “[Garyn] has helped me in terms of my IQ. As a point guard he sees stuff that I normally don’t see…When he’s in the game he takes pressure off of me and our teammates as well.”
Gary’s experience and talent has been a productive addition to Springfield’s team so far. Through the Pride’s first four games, he has led the team in points (11.3) and is second on the team in rebounds per game (5.5). In the Pride’s exhibition game against Division I Bryant on Nov. 27, Bess scored a team high 15 points, 13 of which came in the first half.
ESPN+ announcer Mason Stauff was very complimentary of Bess’ game after his strong first half, saying, “[Gary] has shown no fear. really… that right elbow jumper has been strong… You wonder if maybe he was 6 ‘8-6’9, 200 pounds [if] he would be at this level.”
The addition of both Garyn and Gary has enhanced the culture of the Springfield team as well.
“[Garyn and Gary] are very quiet but once they get comfortable they love to laugh and joke with the team and they are very fiery with each other,” McClendon said.
Many factors played a role in helping Garyn feel comfortable in choosing Springfield College, but the most important one was how much love McClendon and the other coaches showed him during the recruiting process.
“You could tell they actually wanted me to come here because they asked for links to my games, they would watch all my games, they would give me feedback on all my games.” Bess said. “So I was like, ‘Yeah, this is probably the school that’s for me, that should be my first home.’”
Garyn has gotten his first experience at the collegiate level. He has had limited playing time as a freshman so far, but when he has stepped on the court, he has made the most of the opportunity. His longest game time came on Nov. 10 at Rutgers-Newark. During his nine minutes on the court he scored 9 points and dished out 2 assists. He found a way to consistently get to the free throw line, where he was 6-for-6.
“A goal for me is to learn and grow as much as I can mentally and physically, in everything,” he said “I am trying to become a better player in the future…I feel like I can do that here.”
Garyn has goals for himself this year but his priority is the same as it was in high school.
“Talking to my dad and my brother we all have one goal,” he said. “And that’s to try and win a championship in any way we can.”
Photo’s courtesy of Hoophall