Recent William & Mary men’s basketball alum Terry Tarpey is making an impact on the International stage after being named to the French National A Team on Friday.
Tarpey was among 18 players competing in a tryout for France and earned one of 12 spots on the team for its upcoming trip to China to play in two International tournaments. The French National A Team is the first step for Tarpey, who was born in Poissy just outside of Paris and lived in the country until the age of three, in his attempt to earn a spot on the top French National Team.
During the tryout, Tarpey and France knocked off Germany, 74-61, in a scrimmage on Thursday. The two-time Colonial Athletic Association played 17 minutes off the bench and performed well, finishing with six points on 3-of-4 from the field to go with five rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot. His all-around game provided the second-best efficiency rating on the team of 12. The French recap raved about Tarpey’s defensive play against the Germans.
The French National A Team is used as a feeder system for the French National Team, which features six NBA players including Tony Parker and Boris Diaw of the 2014 San Antonio Spurs, Nic Batum of the Charlotte Hornets and the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert. Its players move up to the French National Team when there is an injury or if a player opts out of an international event.
Tarpey travels with France to compete in a pair of International tournaments during the month of July. France competes in the Stankovic Cup in China from July 5-10. They face Argentina onTuesday, July 5, China on Wednesday, July 6, and Nigeria onFriday, July 8. The championship rounds are slated for Saturday, July 9, and Sunday, July 10. France squares off with China onTuesday, July 12, in a scrimmage, before closing out the trip competing in the Sino -European Men’s Basketball Championship in Kunshan, China. The Blues meet Germany on Friday, July 15, Montenegro on Saturday, July 16, and China on Sunday, July 17.
Tarpey closed out his W&M career in 2015-16, garnering All-CAA and NBAC All-District Second Team honors for the second straight year. He became the fifth player in conference to win two CAA Defensive Player of the Year awards, a list that includes current NBA player and former Old Dominion standout Kent Bazemore and former NBA first round pick and VCU star Larry Sanders. Tarpey was one of five players nationally to average 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals per game in 2015-16, and led the CAA in steals for the second-straight year.
Tarpey, who was named the team co-MVP in 2016, appeared in 124 games over his career with 96 starts and recorded 946 points, 807 rebounds, 270 assists, 171 steals and 119 blocked shots. He finished his career ranked third in program history in both steals and blocked shots as well as fifth in rebounds with the most boards for a Tribe player since 1967.
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