Former NSR hoops star, Vincent Viola, finds balance between college sports and physics studies

Sometimes it’s not all about sports

Throughout his four years at Paramus Catholic High School in Paramus, New Jersey, and now as a first-year student at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, former NSR basketball prospect, Vincent Viola, has maintained a delicate balance of academics and athletics. As a 6’7″ basketball player for the Lynx, he commits himself fully to improving his skills and being the best team player he can be. At the same time, he keeps his studies and academic pursuits in first place on his priority list.

After graduating as salutatorian from a high school class of 418 students, Vincent entered Rhodes as a Physics major and recruited basketball player.  National Scouting Report and his scout, Dan Greco, had proved to be valuable assets in helping him find a school with the right balance of academics and athletics he desired.  While playing on the junior varsity team this past winter, Vincent made Dean’s List with a 3.92 GPA. Adding to his academic commitment, he was an active member of the Society of Physics Students.  In this group, he traveled to local elementary schools as part of a science outreach program. After the JV season ended, Vincent enjoyed playing on an intramural basketball team of science majors.

Most recently, Vincent traveled to NASA’s John Marshall Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for the 19^th Annual Great Moonbuggie Race in mid-April. He attended the first design meeting last October and spent many long hours helping the Rhodes College Physics Team assemble what turned out to be an award-winning moonbuggie. As a first-time participant, Rhodes was eligible for the “Rookie Award” and the team was thrilled to win it with the fastest vehicle.

This summer will feature more science and more basketball for Vincent.  As soon as the spring semester ends, he will travel to Italy with the Rhodes men’s basketball team to play some friendly games against Italian teams. Then he returns to Memphis to spend ten weeks on the Rhodes campus as part of a science research team. He will be working with the moonbuggie’s student project leader to improve the current design for next year’s competition.