From Red Hook to Red Fox: Marist lands Raiders star Morgan Tompkins

In her younger years, Morgan Tompkins attended basketball camps at Marist College.

She admitted she wasn’t a very polished player at the time, and might have tested the nerves of some of her instructors.

“I was so young. I was always the pain in the butt,” Tompkins said with a laugh. “The kid who was running around, hyping everyone up.”

But she became much more than the “hype girl” as time went on, evolving into the star of the Red Hook High School basketball team and an impact player for the Albany-based AAU Havoc program. And when she received an offer from the place at which she began to learn the game, she wasn’t turning it down.

Red Hook freshman Morgan Tompkins pulls up for a jump shot during a Dec. 3 game against Spackenkill.
Red Hook freshman Morgan Tompkins pulls up for a jump shot during a Dec. 3 game against Spackenkill.

Tompkins signed her National Letter of Intent to play at Marist. A senior at Red Hook, she’ll join the Red Foxes next year.

“It’s always been my dream to go to Marist, because that’s what I grew up seeing and experiencing,” Tompkins said. “I’m extremely excited.”

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Red Foxes’ coach Brian Giorgis was happy Tompkins picked Marist among a host of other Division I suitors, and spoke highly of her abilities. The coach praised her maturation since those days in her youth at the Marist camps, as well as her versatility.

“It’s wonderful,” Giorgis said of Tompkins, an agile guard that stands nearly 6-feet tall. “She started coming to our camps when she was very young. You could see that she had some ability.”

Tompkins added that Red Hook’s proximity to the campus — roughly 21 miles — factored into her decision choosing Marist. The closeness, she said, will allow her family to attend many of her games.

“I expect everyone to be there,” she said.

A multitalented player

Tompkins displayed leadership traits and potential as an eighth-grader, and improved with each season at Red Hook.

She can score from the perimeter and inside, facilitate and has proven her worth as a superb defender.

The winter high school basketball season was condensed this past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet she still managed to average 20 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.8 blocks and 2.6 steals to lead the Raiders.

Although there was no sectional basketball tournament, she was named the Section 9 Dutchess County Most Valuable Player by the coaches and eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career. Tompkins was also named the Poughkeepsie Journal Player of the Year.

“She has a high motor,” Giorgis said. “She’s a 6-foot guard. You just don’t find many of those and she’s versatile. She can play the one, the two, the three and the four. She can shoot it, she goes to the basket with reckless abandon and finishes.”

But, all those strengths came with time. Tompkins said going from those days as a pesky camper to an elite player was a long process.

“I’ve been through a lot, as a player. I worked with a bunch of different trainers and they definitely built me up,” she said. “Just learning through the mistakes, stuff like that.”

Red Hook's Morgan Tompkins controls the ball during a Dec. 3 girls basketball game against Spackenkill High School.
Red Hook's Morgan Tompkins controls the ball during a Dec. 3 girls basketball game against Spackenkill High School.

Hometown player

When choosing a school, Tompkins said she didn’t want to be any further away from home than six hours.

She’d received offers from Manhattan, George Washington, Quinnipiac, Merrimack and Lafayette. But her history with Marist as well as the hometown flair won her over.

“I think it’s perfect,” said Tompkins, who is also an accomplished soccer goalie. “About 45 minutes from my house, so it’s not too far. I knew I wanted to go somewhere close to home.”

She’s the latest Dutchess County product to join the Red Foxes, following Erin Fox’s lead. The sophomore forward from Millbrook was recruited two years ago and won a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship with Marist this past season.

“It is great to have local kids play near home,” Giorgis said. “A lot of their fanbase comes to the game, really gives support. It’s just a lot of fun.”

A.J. Martelli: 845-437-4836, amartelli@poughkeepsiejournal.com, Twitter: @AJ_Martelli

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Marist College women signs Red Hook basketball star Morgan Tompkins