The first time I saw Mark Elliott was at a MUN super camp way back in the day.
To me, at the time, he looked to be about 7 feet tall but in reality he was 6ft7 in sneakers! I can remember thinking who would be able to stop this guy down low...what a brute of a man! Mark had a wonderful career at yuMUN using up all five years of his eligibility and he got better with each passing year. Mark had excellent footwork which he used to get free for easy hoops and he dunked as often as he could! And he had a consistent mid range jumper to boot! I really enjoyed working with Mark, he brought back a lot of memories for me! I hope you enjoy our conversation, he is a really neat guy!
1) Can you give us an introduction? Name, high school and are you still involved with basketball these days? How tall are you anyway???
- Mark Elliott. I went to St. Stephen’s High in Stephenville, NL.I am 6ft7!
2) What got you hooked on basketball?
-What got Mark involved in basketball was his grade 7 PE teacher and from this introduction
he grew to love the sport. Mark was always playing sports of some type growing and his friends were all competitive!
3) Best coach at any level?
- The best coach Mark ever had was Les Campbell in high school. He was very supportive and really developed his skills early on. He was a man among men. Someone Mark tried to emulate. Tony Wakeham is definitely in the conversation too. Great coach and person.
4) Tell me about your high school gym. Level of fan support?
- Our high school gym was excellent. The floor wasn’t hardwood but rather a concrete Rubber. The fan base at the school was second to none! During my senior year, we won the 3A Provincials at Laval Catholic High School and the send off and reception we received was outstanding! A great memory to take with you for sure.
5) Tell me who were your top 5 teammates in high school, NLBA or university?
- Top 5 teammates: Bruce Nowe because he made me look better than I was! Great play maker! (university); Mike Hoy basketball IQ and was always open for the long pass (university); Rob Downer (Provincial team). Very aggressive and tough. He’d somehow always make the pass when he was under pressure; Willie Smith (high school) developed into a great spot up shooter which really helped our team win the banner; Scott Noftall (university) hard nosed player who didn’t mind getting into the rough stuff. Great guy on and off the court.
6) What was your record for points per game in high school?
- The Provincials were held in Placentia in Mark's final year of high school. Mark scored 54 points against St. Paul’s high from Gander. Mark lead them to the win that game by effectively using screens. He would came off the screen and where Mark was taller than anyone on their team so all he had to do was just turn and shoot! Everything seemed to be falling for Mark that game and he was simply unstoppable.
7) Most memorable basketball moment?
- There’s two most memorable moments. The first was winnig the 3A banner in high school. The other is during his 4th year at MUN. They were playing the UCCB Capers and were winning. At the end of the game one of their players went up for a shot to tie the game and he blocked it at the 3 point line. Got the win!
8) Who was the most difficult player you have ever guarded?
- Will Njoku. He was an extremely talented big man. He could leap, had great agility and was just an all round great player. He dunked on me more than once!
- Mark and company's big challenger from Corner Brook was Regina. They were a 4A school and they were a great team and well coached. They competed well but came up short.
10) Have you played summer NLBA basketball?
Yes Mark played summer provincial basketball! Hey didn’t start at first in 85 or 86. There were some great players on those teams like Ted Byrne, Jeff White and Chris Mesher. Mark travelled in Atlantic Canada and to a tournament in Montreal. He learned a lot from those guys. He finally started in 88-89 and competed in the Canada summer games in Saskatoon in 1989...you go big fella!
11) Where are YOU now? Profession, home city etc
Mark is currently living in Clarenville, NL and is an RCMP officer these days!
12) Last question and just for fun…who is your favorite NBA team? Favorite player?!
- My favorite NBA team is the Boston Celtics and I grew up in the Larry Bird/Magic Johnson era. Larry was my favorite of course. The matchups between Bird and Magic and also Bird and Dominique Wilkins were fantastic. Jordan came on the scene after that.
Did I miss anything? Anything you wanted added in? Thanks so much!
I checked the high school site (ssnl50.ca) and they’re showing St. Mike’s out of Grand Falls (now closed) winning the 3A championship in 1987/88. This is wrong. It shows the St. Stephen’s girls team winning the 3A banner for basketball that year. Maybe there was a mix-up or something!
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