Noonan Siblings Ready To Tip It Off At DU Next Season

DENVER—The University of Denver men’s and women’s basketball teams will be closely tied next year. The brother and sister duo of Trevor and Quincey Noonan, who starred at the high school level in Colorado, will bring their skills to the two rising DU programs.

A Family Affair
Trevor, who is on DU’s roster but is sitting this season out after transferring from the Air Force Academy, and Quincey, a senior at Legacy High School, both began playing basketball early on in life. “They’ve been to games since they were in the crib,” Jim Noonan said. “Trevor was a ball boy in kindergarten when I was the coach at Poudre and all through elementary school. They both came to a lot of practices.”

Jim Noonan was a high school coach for 28 years in Colorado.

Attending their father’s practices and growing up around the game undoubtedly enhanced the Noonan’s biggest basketball strength: A high hoops IQ.  Jim Noonan explained that his children can see developments on the court before they happen.

And Jim Noonan should know best. He was Trevor’s high school coach at Legacy, and Quincey calls her dad “my own little personal coach.”

Trevor looks back with fond memories of his high school days at Legacy with his dad at the helm. “I really cherish our time together,” Trevor Noonan said. “It gave me a better relationship with him, and we grew through basketball.”

Jim Noonan said he enjoyed coaching his son even though it was straining on Trevor’s social life. “His friends were all basketball players, and they didn’t want to come over to the house in the offseason or after practice because they had enough of coach,” Jim Noonan joked. “But overall, just being able to watch him progress, coach him and watch his development as a player was a lot of fun.”

Trevor, a 6-foot-9-inch forward, certainly developed throughout his high school career. As a senior at Legacy, he averaged more than 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks per game. He was a first-team All Front Range Conference selection his final two seasons, and led the Lightning to a 13-11 record as a senior.

Here and Now
While Quincey and Trevor are both eager to debut with the Pioneers, both are playing significant roles for their teams this season. From an early age, Quincey was playing basketball with the boys, attending open gyms with her family. “It helped me a lot because the (boy’s) game is so physical and fast paced

Trevor had a tough decision between DU and Air Force coming out of high school. He decided on the Academy and averaged two points in 10 minutes per game as a freshman. But Noonan ultimately decided the cadet lifestyle was not for him. DU was still interested and offered him a scholarship.

Due to NCAA transfer rules, Trevor has to sit this season out, but he’s still helping the 16-11 Pioneers in practice. “I’ve been doing everything I can to make the team better,” he said. “I think it’s paid off—having someone the guys can go against who has college experience—every day in practice."

Trevor often plays the role of an upcoming opponent’s big man. He also guards perimeter guys to prepare them to shoot over lengthy defenders.

Quincey is in her fourth year as the starting point guard for Legacy. At 5-foot-11, she is taller than most teams’ guards. Her height enhances her already superb court vision. The Lightning are 22-1 and one of four top seeds in the state tournament. Legacy plays Doherty on Friday, and Quincey has aspirations of playing in Boulder in March, where a state champion will be crowned.

“This year we have the talent to go that far,” Quincey Noonan said. “As long as we can stay healthy and keep getting better, we should have a pretty good chance.”

Quincey is playing to her strengths and using that exceptional court vision in route to averaging 3.5 assists per game. She’s also chipping in with 11 points per game. When all is said and done, Legacy, with Quincey Noonan leading the way, should be among the top four teams in the state.

The Pioneers Await
The Noonan’s are focused on the current season, but they envision significant roles with the Pioneers next year.

Quincey went through a competitive recruiting process. Stanford, Gonzaga, Boston College, Louisville, Kansas and Kansas State all showed significant interest in her. But when decision time came, she knew DU was the choice. “She realized that ‘If I’m comparing all these schools to DU, then that must obviously be the place,” her dad said.

Quincey said she hopes to contribute as a freshman next year and will put in the necessary work in the offseason to attain that goal.

Pioneers head coach Erik Johnson was ecstatic to land the prized recruit. “Quincey is a 5-11 point guard with long arms who can change the game both offensively and defensively,” said Johnson, whose team is 16-12 this year. “Being a coach’s daughter, Quincey brings with her a great attitude and respect for the game. She is a great team player and her commitment to DU was a big step forward for our program.”

Trevor compared his game to Pioneers’ junior forward Andrew Hooper. Hooper is also 6-foot-9, and similar to Noonan, is a sharpshooting big that connects on nearly 50 percent of his three-pointers this season. With Noonan in the mix next season Sun Belt foes will have a lot of matchup problems.

“Even though he’s not able to play this year because of transfer rules, Trevor has shown us during practice some of the skills that he will bring next year,” said DU’s third year head coach Joe Scott. “He’s strong, can play in the post and he’s a very good passer. We feel strongly that he will help us over the next few seasons.”

Jim Noonan is thrilled about the opportunity to watch both of his children compete at the same school next year. He stepped down as Legacy’s coach this season, in part, to watch his children play more.

“We’re so excited and blessed to be able to have that opportunity to have them both 20 miles away from home and be able to go watch them,” Jim Noonan said. “Those two programs are on their way up, and they’re going to be a part of that. I couldn’t be more excited.”

Contact the writer at prossi@milehighhoops.com