Name: William Magarity
Year: 2018
PCC Affiliation: Not affiliated
Hometown: Norrköping, SWEDEN
Major: Political Science
Campus Involvement: Basketball team
Will Magarity transferred to Davidson for basketball last year after a year of playing at Boston College. And before that, he played for two years in Italy. But I got to know Will outside of his basketball talent—he was my Swedish tutor through Davidson’s self-instructional language program. What continues to strike me about Will, besides how tall he is, is his enthusiasm for whatever it is that he does and his constant friendly presence around campus. Read on to get to know him a little better.
How is your first year playing for Davidson? It’s a lot of fun. Sitting out last year was really tough psychologically, because it wasn’t the fact that I was injured and couldn’t play—it was that I wasn’t allowed to play. I didn’t really like basketball anymore after Boston, and coming here I found that love for basketball again, and I wanted to get better and practice and win again. So being able to play this year and be on the court with my friends is something that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
Do you have a pre-game ritual? Not necessarily. I usually try to focus on the things that I need to work on that day, if it’s what coach told me or what I think I need to work on myself, mostly rebounding, running the floor, and playing defense. If I do those things, everything else will come naturally. Right now, rebounding is the thing I need to focus on.
Song he’s listening to on repeat right now: “Rockin’” by the Weeknd. His new album is a gem.
On his press exposure: Oh, I mean, any sort of public exposure is good, but what I’m focused on is not where I am on any sort of list, but the amount of games that we are winning. I try not to look at articles and lists and top this or top that. I try to focus more on us in practice.
Favorite emoji: The crying laughing faces or the soft smile…I use lots of soft smiles.
What do you want people to know about you besides that you are tall and Swedish? So I’ve heard I’m pretty intimidating to approach because I am so tall. But, as anyone who knows me would tell you, I’m a very nice person. I can hold a conversation, some people laugh at my jokes…but most don’t. I love talking to people, meeting new people, engaging in conversations whether about sports, or what happened today, or the weather, I don’t really care. Friends are really important to me, and I try and have as much fun with my life as I can. I live in the moment as much as possible.
Any hidden talents? No, between practicing so many hours a day and going to class and stuff, I don’t really have time for a hidden talent.
Why did you choose to play in America? Well, my dad is American so I have dual citizenship. My dad went to University of Georgia and eventually moved to Sweden. So growing up, there’s always been that incentive to go college, and I heard my dad’s stories about the college experience. Most of my friends in Sweden are playing professionally in Europe now and didn’t finish high school, because it’s not important. They’re still making money. But for me, I realized that there is a life after sports, and besides that there’s the experience of going to college and meeting people that you’ll hopefully be best friends with, or at least connected to, for the rest of your life. That always intrigued me, and that’s why I eventually decided to come to the United States.
Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookies and cream.
What are three words your teammates would use to describe you? Dedicated, trustworthy, and, apparently, I’m a good time.
Fond Davidson memories: I’m very attached to my teammates. They are my best friends here. So I think it’s any sort of event that happens and that we go together to as a team. For me, last year was all about the experience since I couldn’t play, so I tried to do as much as I could. This year has been more focused on basketball. But my first Frolics was, uh, interesting…but I don’t know how good that is to write about.
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