When I was in grade 12, Sonny was in Grade 9, we got invited to a tournament at Laval where I got to see Sonny play. Man this boy was hooping and it caught my eye! Sonny was obviously a prodigious talent and when he was on the floor with his running partner Peter Beniote, anything could happen! Watching him play on a reallyr good Laval team, I knew that he was something special. Over the course of this interview, I will be speaking with Sonny about a variety of topics related to his basketball career. Old friends and teammatesj will be pleased to know that he hasn’t lost that refreshing sense of humour and wit! Let’s
Loo pop p get everyone into the van now…it’s time to go see Sonny put in some work in the lab AND see what he has to say about it all!
1 - Can you give us an introduction. Name, high school, are you still involved with basketball now?
Sonny Ennis, born and raised in Southeast Placentia. Attended Laval High School. I’m still attempting to play ball, but it gets harder every week at this age! I was still playing in Men’s League and a Senior League (35+) up until Covid hit. Played 3 times a week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. But after Covid, I went to just the 35+ League and that’s enough and the knees tell me it’s more than enough some weeks!
2 - What got you hooked on basketball?
My older Brother Scott actually got me into ball. I wasn’t interested in it at all when I was younger. I was a Hockey player only. But I remember the summer between Grade 7 and 8, our Phys Ed teacher Bill Greene (RIP) started a league at the Elementary School for the kids my brother’s age. He even put the scores in the Evening Telegram! They were playing on 9 foot rims and I remember my brother had 42 points and a half dozen dunks. From that moment my life goal was to dunk a basketball! My cousin Jeff King put up a hoop out back of his house, and all that summer we spent dunking on that thing. When it got torn down, we put it up again a little higher each time. By the time Grade 8 started, I had grown to 6 foot and myself and Peter Benoite tortured those rims all that year. I think there’s a video floating around on FB of me dunking on those rims in a game in Grade 8, sporting some stylish Hawaiian shorts! Around that time, they built a basketball court next to my house, and I lived there. Even in the winter, I remember being out jumping off a fish tub dunking in my winter boots and gloves in three feet of snow.
3 - best coach you ever had
I was lucky enough to have some great coaches through the years. Martin Cull was the first coach to really teach me the game and make me believe that I could be good. I remember the first try out for the Grade 9 team. I was only in Grade 8 and didn’t have much of a clue about ball to be honest. I went through that try out feeling a little out of place but at the end he told me I had potential. And I remember thinking that he only said that to be nice, but not only did I make the team but he started me every game that year. That was huge for my confidence.
Dave Constantine was my coach for the majority of my high school career. How lucky to have not one but two Hall of Fame coaches in Jr High/High School. Dave had so much Basketball knowledge that he passed on to us. He was big on fundamentals and teamwork, and in my opinion, that was the basis for all our success at Laval. We had some talented individual players, but it was all about team, and Dave was the reason for that.
4 - tell me about your high school gym. Big? Where did fans sit?! How was the Level of fan support?
If I’m being honest, our gym was terrible. But I loved playing there. The ceilings were too low, the floor was tile, sometimes slippery and all the time hard on the knees and ankles. Old metal backboards with rims that didn’t collapse. But it was my favorite place to play (next to Brother Rice, that place was always great to play. Fans on the stage and tightly squeezed in along the sidelines, the atmosphere was great when we had an after school game. With that said, I think we played about 80 percent of our high school games on the road, and that was good too. Nothing like quieting a raucous road crowd!
5 - tell me who were your top 3 teammates over the years?
Hard to choose top 3 teammates. I’d be leaving out a lot of great guys. Especially through the High School years. We had a close knit team from Grade 8- Grade 12. We all got along great, and it was all about team. As for after High School, I have to give a shout out to Darcy Sutton. He was a great teammate. Wasn’t the biggest guy on the floor, in fact most games he was probably the smallest (sorry Darcy), but he had the biggest heart. He did whatever the team needed and he would fight anybody for his teammates, I mean ANYBODY! And man could that guy give a pep talk, what a leader.
6 - What was your record for points per game in high school-? Best guess! Most points in a single game?
Most points in a high school game….I’m not really sure. I do remember a tournament in Corner Brook in Grade 12 at Regina where Benoite had 54 and I had 46. And I know Peter told me he has an old score sheet in a game we played against each other in an after school league where he had 61 and I had 56. I’m gonna credit our offensive games and not lack of defence for those crazy numbers. lo! I mean just look at the flow! Normally going in to a cross provincial tournament you’d be a little nervous, but looking down the bench, I never thought we were going to lose that tournament. We had skill, we were athletic, a hall of fame coach in Doug Partridge and in a rarity for Newfoundland, we were the biggest team there. I guess some of the games were close, but we went undefeated and took home the Gold.
8 - What is your most memorable basketball moment?
A lot of memorable moments that are hard to pick from, winning the Jr provincial title in Grade 8, 3A Provincials in Grade 10 (even though I missed that tournament with Strep Throat my name is still on the banner. Lol), and the Eastern Canadian Gold in grade 11. But number one is probably winning The Brother Rice Jamboree in Grade 10. It was one of the biggest tournaments of the year to us. All the top teams to see who was going to be the favorite going into the following year. We needed a game winning buzzer beater from Paul Carroll to beat Br. Rice in the round robin. Followed by a game winner with 1.5 seconds left on the clock from Benoite to beat O’Donel in the semis. Then we shot the lights out to beat Beaconsfield in the final. A Beaconsfield team that had beaten us the day before in the round robin by 25. My most memorable moment, it was dunking over Peter Watkins for the And 1 in Long Harbour! (Sorry Peter)
9 - Where have you travelled for basketball? Provincials??
We travelled all over this fine province for basketball. Lots of great memories sleeping in the classrooms at Br. Rice for any tournaments in town. Staying up half the night and playing three or four games the next day. Lewisporte for the NL Winter games was a fun one, they took good care of us. Always enjoyed the Brother Duffy tournament in Harbour Grace. But my favorite place to visit in High School and even today is Trepassey. So many laughs with that crowd, just good people and so much fun. Even went on to spend most of my post high school career playing basketball with the Trepassey crowd.
10 - who is the most difficult player you have guarded?
Defence, what’s that? Lol I know some of my former teammates are reading that and having a chuckle. Like I always used to say to them, when you score like me defense is optional. I know Dave Constantine and Martin Cull are reading this shaking their heads. And it’s not true of course, defence wins championships! Of course having played against Carl and Peter, they were both unstoppable, you just had to hope for a miss. John Devereux with his size and stroke was the same. A lot of good players have come through this province that’s for sure, and I can’t take credit for stopping any of them. lol
11 - what advice would you give to young NL ballers starting out to ensure success?
Believe in yourself. I know if you’re coming from a small town or a small province headed to the bigger cities, it can be overwhelming. But you have to remember that they are shooting the same size basketball as you, on a 10 foot rim just like you. If you can shoot in a gym in Arnolds Cove, you can shoot in a gym in Toronto.
12 - last question and just for fun…who is your favourite NBA team? Favourite NBA. player?
Raptors for life!! No favorite player, I cheer for the team….LETS GO RAPTORS (Clap clap, clap clap clap).
13 - Where are they now!
Living the good life in Gander these days. Still playing 35+ ball once a week. But most of my time when not with my wife, kids and family and friends, is spent on the Gander Golf Club!!
Did I miss anything?
The only thing you missed telling the readers was that Geoff Wareham and Robert Upshall drove to Placentia to pick up the hired smoking gun Sonny who scored 35 points in the second half to overcome a 25 point deficit in to take down you (Ferg) and big Leon Peddle/Little Hearts Ease team in a money tourney in Arnolds Cove! Just Kidding Ferg, it was fun doing this, going down memory lane!! Cheers, Buddy!
To close, I would like to thank Sonny for taking the time to answer my questions and reminisce about his hey days in Placentia and what he p to now. I love the writing, the discussing and the dreaming! Thanks again Sonny!
Ian Davidson
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