Date: Fri 05-Jan-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: TOMW

Illustration: I

Quick Words:

Gellert-Column

Full Text:

Andrew Gellert Column (January 1996)

The Gellert Era Begins at NHS

Comparison, whether it be wrong or right, is and will always be an element of

sports writing.

Is Mike Tyson as good as Ali? Could the '95 Atlanta Braves have beaten the '27

Yankees? Is Marino better than Namath? LT than Butkus? Is Penny Hardaway the

next Michael Jordan?

From the professional ranks all the way down the youth leagues, people love to

compare today's stars with yesterday's - in all sports - and frankly it gets

tiresome after a while.

At Newtown High School this winter, though, there is at least one such

comparison going on.

In a scenario very much like the one in which Steve Young stepped in to

replace San Francisco 49er legend Joe Montana a few years back, Newtown's

Andrew Gellert is faced with filling the high tops of one of the school's

all-time basketball greats - an overwhelming task with, perhaps, unfair

expectations. That ex-Indian great, Greg Gallagher, has had his name appear in

every pre-season article written about the defending-champion NHS basketball

team. And the burning question keeps getting asked, " Can Andrew Gellert

replace him? "

On Thursday night, December 28, the quiet sophomore - after starting only his

fifth-ever varsity basketball game - swaggered to the center of the Stratford

High School gymnasium floor, his face void of expression, to accept the most

valuable player award for the tournament that Newtown had just won.

If there had been a monkey on this promising young star's back, it was gone

now as he snared a quick handshake, lowered the plaque to his hip like a

school book, and headed back over to the bench.

Gellert didn't sit down and stare at his new trophy in awe. No big deal. Mr

Gellert has had plaques like these given to him before. This one was nice, but

just another slab of wood to be placed on a shelf next to where armies of tiny

brass-colored figurines collect dust and where others are destined to follow.

Like the era of the Western Connecticut Conference, the Greg Gallagher NHS

basketball files can now be laminated and encased with the other unforgettable

Newtown High sports memories.

The torch has officially been passed.

For the next three years as the Indians seek to make a mark in the new South

West Conference they will do so under the direction of a new floor leader.

It's Gellert's team now.