I got to the UMass' men's hoop pickup game late Tuesday so I wasn't there long. But my first thought as I sat down in the bleachers was...

Who's the big kid?

He was wearing a Loomis Chaffee tank top and guarding Hashim "Big City" Bailey. As they got close enough to for me to judge I realized Big Mystery was an inch or two taller than Big City, who is listed at 6-foot-10.

I asked around and learned he was Andrew McCarthy, a 7-foot freshman big man from Scituate via Loomis Chaffee, who is walking onto the Minutemen. I want to state right here that I'm resisting the temptation to make a lot of bad 1980s Brat Pack movie references.

I'm assuming there's some flaw to his game because at 7-feet somebody would usually take a chance on him. In the entire time was I there, which lasted about 10-15 minutes of game action, McCarthy didn't get the ball. So its possible he has flippers for hands and I wouldn't know it.

But he moved pretty well. He wasn't your stereontypical big stiff. So if nothing else he's a big body and as a walk-on that's a pretty big bonus.

There'll be a UMass hoop notebook that's topped with a short story in Wednesday's Gazette and a short video interview (my debut as a cameraman) accompanying it. 

There's a couple other nuggets in there as well.

Photo is from http://www.newenglandrecruitingreport.com