| | Published July 17th, 2013
| Lamorinda Native Prepares for Final Season with Gaels
| | By Hunter Hewitt |  | | Beau Levesque graduated in May, but returns to SMC for another year with the basketball team while he completes a Master's. Photo Tod Fierner
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Since the end of the last season, the Saint Mary's basketball team has been in recovery mode.
First, the Gaels found themselves in the national spotlight following an NCAA investigation that resulted in penalties for recruiting violations. Soon after, four-year player and the team's leading scorer, senior Matthew Dellavedova, graduated.
In short, the Gaels have some work to do. With Lamorinda native Beau Levesque and other key players returning, however, SMC is looking forward to a strong season.
"(Dellavedova) graduating leaves a huge void in a lot of statistical categories, but the biggest thing is leadership," said Levesque. "He is one of the best leaders I've ever played with, but I feel like with the seniors we have, we can fill that void."
Levesque and his teammates are currently working out on their own, but will be able to practice together as a team in just a few weeks. Although the violations were unfortunate, Levesque says he and his teammates have put the sanctions behind them.
"A lot of the penalties won't take effect until after I leave, but honestly, we don't even talk about it or think about it," he said. "There is nothing we can do about it now, and we just want to focus on being the best that we can be."
It's a smart attitude to have, and it comes as no surprise from an intelligent player like Levesque, a two-time West Coast Conference All-Academic Team honoree.
Born and raised in Lafayette, after graduating from De La Salle High School, Levesque decided not to travel far to begin his collegiate career.
Levesque was not a superstar with eye-popping statistics in high school, but his work ethic and eagerness to improve drew interest from a handful of Division I programs. His strong body of work in the classroom also intrigued colleges.
"I focused a lot on academics, and I did pretty well," said a modest Levesque, who earned a 4.1 GPA in high school. "It opened up a lot of doors for me collegiately, and a lot of schools were interested because I could also qualify for academic money if they weren't able to give me an athletic scholarship at that time."
And that's exactly what happened.
Despite receiving interest from Ivy League schools like Yale and Penn, Levesque eventually chose to attend Saint Mary's on an academic scholarship. He was promised a spot on the basketball team as a walk-on, and he wanted to stay close to home so his family could attend his games.
Levesque saw limited action as a freshman, and then used his sophomore year to redshirt while he recovered from hip injuries.
After earning a full basketball scholarship prior to his sophomore year, Levesque stepped into an increased role. In the 2012-13 season, he appeared in all 35 games and averaged 10.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest.
Never forgetting the importance of academics, Levesque graduated magna cum laude in May with a degree in sports management. He will begin a master's program in leadership studies in the fall.
"My parents always stressed the importance of academics to me even more than athletics," Levesque explained, "because athletics might not pan out. You always need to focus on academics."
After his final year, Levesque hopes to play professionally overseas. Although he may not be in Lamorinda at this time next year, he will always cherish the area he grew up in.
"Lamorinda will always be special to me because it's a very tight knit community," Levesque said. "I love living here, and I love going to school here."
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA