By Mathew Starner

Many Mac students would agree that a major in Economics isn’t easy. ƒ?^Just as many Mac athletes would agree that scoring 1000 points is no easy task.Yet Tom Conboy ‘08 has managed to do both, becoming the most recent Mac athlete to reach 1000 points in basketball while still getting his homework done.

Juggling the two has come easier for Conboy.

“I do the best I can, and all I can do,” he said. “It’s worth it, I’ve enjoyed my education here.”

Conboy reached the 1000 point mark at St Thomas Dec 6, and since then has passed 13 other all time marks from past players—just halfway through his junior year—becoming the fifth leading scorer in Macalester history, and about 450 points away from the all-time record.

Getting to this seemed to come quicker in comparison to past scorers, but Conboy knew the achievement would come eventually.

“To be honest, I didn’t think that much about it,” Conboy said. “It’s an accomplishment, but…I knew it’d happen at some point. I even expected to vastly surpass 1000 points.”

Conboy even joked that the feat did not come soon enough. “When I came here, I knew I was going to score a lot of points, if anything, I had expected to score more by now.”

Even so, such an accomplishment doesn’t come easy for anyone, and Conboy owes a lot to his fellow players.

“A thousand points is great, but I’ve played with a lot of good players who’ve helped me to score those,” he said.

“Within our system, I do get more touches and more shots than other players in the league,” Conboy said. “I’ve always been a really good shooter. But I’ve always worked really hard in terms of being in the weight room and working by myself in the gym.”

By no means was four-figure scoring ever a burden in the back of Conboy’s mind, nor anything for anyone around him to worry about, either.

“I’d known I was close to 1000, but in terms of our team and what we’re trying to do, it’s not something I ever stress,” Conboy said. “However many points I score helps with what we’re trying to do, but it’s ultimately about the team making the playoffs.”

Which Conboy is optimistic about. “We’re still in the thick of the playoff chase. We could still get the 5th seed, and if we make the playoffs, we’re gonna have a shot.”

No matter how the season ends, Conboy has proven himself as a force for the program at Mac, with hopes for an All American title in the near future.

Still, Conboy sets his priorities with the team. “That would be nice and all,” he said. “But if I can help our team get to the national tournament, those individual awards will come.”

Until then, Conboy will be one of the gym rats of Mac. “That’s what I’d like to be remembered for: my dedication to working hard outside the games and always trying to make myself a better player.”