Former Lourdes coach Brian Giorgis tabbed for New York high school sports Hall of Fame

It wasn’t a game-changing play call or some brilliant schematic adjustment that Brian Giorgis considers dear among his memories of being a high school coach. Instead, it’s an image that has held permanent space in his mental hard drive since 1987: His girls basketball players rushing excitedly toward a telephone.

Our Lady of Lourdes had just won its first state championship and, almost immediately after the initial glee, their thoughts turned to Dr. Edward Bastian, a prominent member of the school community who was battling terminal cancer. The team had dedicated its season to him and their triumph, Bastian said, brought cheer to what was a dour time.

“It meant a lot to him, and he felt our success helped him,” Giorgis said. “But his support is what helped us. That moment, seeing the kids so happy to call him, it’s always meant so much to me.”

Poughkeepsie native Mary Sagar called Giorgis one of the most affable teachers she ever had, still marveling all these decades later at how generous he was with his time and the ease with which he conversed with students, even the ones who weren’t at all interested in athletics.

For all the X’s and O’s, the records set, and the trophies hoisted, it’s an ability to connect with people, and a willingness to put sports in perspective, that marked Giorgis’ sterling coaching career. That, the former health and biology teacher said, “is what an educator is supposed to do.”

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“I've been blessed with a lot of great players and coaches, and wonderful kids,” said Giorgis, who retired last year after a lengthy tenure coaching the Marist College women’s basketball team. “You're only as good as the people around you.”

He’ll soon have a cast of scholastic sports icons around him. Well, in a figurative sense.

Giorgis will be inducted into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame this summer, the organization announced last Friday. The venerated former coach is part of a class that includes three all-time great high school athletes and two distinguished former administrators.

“I look at some of the people in there and it’s like, ‘Wow!’” Giorgis said. “People like Jim Brown and Craig Biggio are in there. So, to hear that I was selected, it’s incredibly humbling.”

He will be inducted during a July 31 ceremony on Long Island at the Hyatt Place in Riverhead. Giorgis received a congratulatory phone call from NYSPHSAA but said he hasn't yet made plans for the event.

The Schenectady native built a girls basketball dynasty at Lourdes, compiling a 451-44 record that included a record nine state championships and 19 section titles from 1983-2002. He also led the baseball team on a run to the state final in 1983, and coached successful volleyball, tennis, softball and golf teams during his 25-year tenure at the Catholic school.

After winning four consecutive girls basketball state titles, Giorgis was hired by Marist in 2002. He coached the women’s basketball team to 11 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships, was named conference Coach of the Year eight times, and totaled 463 wins before retiring last year.

“I'm proud of my career, and I wouldn’t change a thing, but I don't expect anything,” Giorgis said of his Hall of Fame selection. “I knew someone had nominated me, so my thought was, ‘If I get in, great. If not, it’s cool.’ But I was glad to receive that phone call. I’m honored.”

Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Lourdes icon Giorgis selected for NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame induction