Ballston Spa Basketball Star Twins Commit To Suffolk University

BALLSTON SPA — Nick and Olivia Verdile, senior twins for the Ballston Spa varsity boys’ and girls’ basketball teams, have each emerged as stars for their respective Scotties teams. But while the duo will move on to college in the fall, they will still be representing the same school.

The Verdile twins have each committed to play basketball at Suffolk University in Boston. Ironically, they did not discuss their decisions with each other, with Nick saying, “We just happened to pick the same school.”

“During the whole recruiting process, we didn’t really talk much until the end,” said Nick Verdile. “I kind of had my schools that I was focusing on, and she had hers.”

Olivia Verdile said part of Suffolk’s appeal was its location in Boston, saying she “always wanted to go to Boston.”

“I thought it would be really cool to experience that when I was still younger,” Olivia Verdile said. “That was kind of what drew me there.”

Nick echoed this, adding that he felt he could be a good fit with the Rams’ offense.

“When I was being recruited, I felt like I connected with their coach very easily,” Nick said. “And just seeing how they run their offense, I felt like I could fit in there.”

Both twins said they grew up around the game, noting that their family is “a big basketball family.”

“My dad really got me into basketball at a young age,” said Nick. “He’s just been such a big fan of it, he would take me to all the high school games in our area growing up. So I always thought that was cool, and I wanted to play at that level.”

The game has helped bring the duo closer together, especially during the COVID-19 quarantine, they said.

“She was like really my only friend at home,” Nick said. “I couldn’t see anyone else. The only person I played basketball with was her, so I feel like that definitely brought us closer together and helped both of us out.”

“We never really like argued or anything a lot,” added Olivia. “We were always in the gym together.”

Nick Verdile, the leading scorer for the Scotties’ boys team, has helped guide Ballston Spa to one of the best regular seasons in team history, finishing 18-1 and winning the Suburban Council Championship for the first time. The Scotties will play the winner of #8-seed Colonie and #9-seed Albany in the Section 2 Class AA quarterfinals on Sunday.

“It’s a great feeling, obviously,” said Nick of the team’s regular season. “Except now, that doesn’t really matter going into the playoffs. Every team has the same record. We’ve just got to focus on winning every game.”

Olivia Verdile is also the leading scorer for the Ballston Spa girls’ team, who finished the regular season at 8-12. The Scotties fell to #8-seed Guilderland, 57-47, in the opening round of the Section 2 Class AA playoffs on Feb. 18.

Olivia credited first-year head coach David Morse for “changing the environment” around the team, saying he has provided a boost of positive energy to the program.

“We hadn’t been the most successful team over the years, but I think he stresses the idea of getting girls to come back, and just positive energy all-around,” Olivia said. “Even if we’re not succeeding at our final outcome, maybe in a game, we’re still finding little things that we’re improving upon every game.”

Nick also credited Ballston Spa boys coach Ben Eldridge for his trust in the Scotties’ boys’ team, saying many of their players have been playing together for a “very long time.”

“I feel like it’s great that he really just allows us to play our game,” said Nick. “We’ve been playing for so long, so he kind of understands that we’ve built a pretty good chemistry. He says he does most of his work in practice. He talks and prepares us for the games, and then in the games, hopefully he doesn’t have to coach that much, and we know what to do, the right things, and the right situations.”

And the goal for the Ballston Spa boys’ team is simple: a sectional championship.

“I’ve been thinking about that since fourth grade,” said Nick. “Ever since I started playing, that was the end goal. All the work that we put in the offseason was to win a sectional championship, win those games. It would definitely be cool, especially winning it with all my buddies.”

“Like he said, that’s always been the end goal and always been the talk in our family,” added Olivia. “I think it would just be really awesome to see.”

The duo also said it has been great to see each other’s work pay off over the years.

“I think it’s just cool to see her hard work, and just making the people around her happy, making our parents proud,” said Nick.

“It’s awesome to see his hard work has paid off,” Olivia said. “It’s just nice to see each other be successful after all that we’ve put into it.”