Ocean City Basketball Tourney to Honor “Really Special Person”

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Victoria McHugh recalled her late boyfriend, Connor Laverty, as being a charismatic person and star athlete, but someone who was also compassionate and humble. “I think for me, he was my greatest confidante and best listener. He also had the ability to talk and listen to anyone in front of him. He was super-charismatic, too. The things he cared about, he made part of his life. He was a really special person,” she said in an interview. McHugh, 25, of Margate, now hopes that others might get a sense of the impact that Connor had on the lives of so many people around him during a fundraiser in memory of one of the greatest basketball players in the history of Ocean City High School. The Connor Laverty Memorial Foundation will hold its inaugural 3-on-3 basketball tournament Saturday, Aug. 3, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sixth Street basketball courts in Ocean City. Age brackets include 9th to 12th grades, 18 to 24, 25 to 29 and 30-plus. Co-ed teams are welcomed. The deadline for sign-ups is July 28, but McHugh said the tournament will also accept teams if they are late in registering. So, far, nearly 20 teams have signed up. The cost is $120 per team. Registration is through Eventbrite.com. The fundraiser will be free for spectators. In addition to the basketball action, there will be a food truck and a donation-based bake sale.

Connor attended Ocean City High School and became a star basketball player and 1,000-point scorer. He graduated in 2016. After high school, he attended Widener University, where he continued to excel in basketball, again becoming a 1,000-point scorer. Among his awards at Widener, he was named the university’s Male Athlete of the Year as a senior. He graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in history. Sadly, Connor died last January at only 25 years old after a six-month battle with lymphoma and a rare condition called HLH, an autoimmune disease resulting in malignant inflammation and multi-organ failure. The 3-on-3 tournament is the first fundraiser held by the Connor Laverty Memorial Foundation. All proceeds will go toward funding scholarships and cancer-related programs, McHugh said. “Something like this was his bread and butter,” she said of the fundraiser fitting in with Connor’s basketball experience. “It’s an emotional thing, but an exciting thing as well.” Connor’s older brother, Ryan Laverty, will be playing in the tournament. Two of Connor’s closest friends, Sean Jamison and Noah Gillian, the son of Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian, will have a team in the tournament, McHugh said. Despite scoring 1,000 points, Connor proudly had said that his most memorable accomplishment in high school was getting to play as a freshman with Ryan, who was a senior at the time.

McHugh and Connor attended Ocean City High School together, although she graduated a year behind him in 2017. McHugh dated Connor from when she was 17 to 25. Connor’s obituary noted just how close the two were as a couple, describing her as his “special person” and “soulmate.” Connor, who lived in Seaville, is also survived by his parents, Tim and Trish Laverty, and his younger sister, Brenna. Tim Laverty is a retired Ocean City firefighter, while Trish is a team member with the Ocean City Municipal Court. This year, Bishop McHugh Regional Catholic School renamed its Spirit Award, presented each year to one boy and one girl in eighth grade, the “Connor James Laverty Spirit Award” in his memory. Connor attended Bishop McHugh as a youngster. Following his death, Connor’s family and Victoria McHugh started the Connor Laverty Memorial Foundation to honor his life and give back locally. The foundation will support the community by awarding scholarships to students who exhibit Connor’s character. It will also help to fund lymphoma and HLH research. In addition to being a fundraiser, the 3-on-3 tournament is another way to honor the life and legacy of Connor Laverty in a community that he greatly impacted. Victoria McHugh hopes that everyone attending the tournament – players and spectators – will get an idea of just how special Connor really was during his short, but extraordinary life. “I would love for more people to know about him,” she said.