Wyckoff Native Behind the Scenes for NBA Draft

This story was written and reported by Devin McGinley. 

As fans around the country watched the basketball league’s future unfold with up-and-coming talent in the NBA Draft Thursday night, one Wyckoff resident had a behind the scenes look.

Vincent LaGuardia, a Wyckoff native currently studying at Loyola University, has for the last four weeks been one of 40 interns chosen from a competitive pool of national applicants to work on producing coverage of the draft for television audiences, the college’s magazine reported.

LaGuardia, a Bergen Catholic graduate, is studying communications and international business at Loyola, and will spend a total of 10 weeks this summer at the NBA’s live programming and entertainment department in the network's Manhattan offices.

By the end of the program, he and other interns will pitch an international brand and merchandising strategy to the league’s executive board.

A former running and defensive back at Bergen Catholic, LaGuardia is seeking to enter a career in sports management upon graduating from Loyola next year, preparing for the competitive field with prior internships with the college’s sports program as well as the Baltimore Blast, a pro indoor soccer team in the city.

“I’m not an all-star athlete,” he told Loyola Magazine. “I’m not the next Lebron James, but I knew I had a firm grasp and a great knowledge of the business side of the game, and that’s what really appealed to me.”

LaGuardia will also have the opportunity to volunteer alongside NBA stars with the NBA Cares program, and on Friday will be helping renovate three middle schools in East Orange.