No One Works Harder than Men's Basketball Senior Tim Waddington

Tim Waddington is always working.

He's working on his schoolwork, he's working on his basketball skills, he's working on his investment portfolio, and working on everything else in between. He keeps working because he's been told that he wasn't good enough to make the Temple team--not once, but twice. He keeps working to prove himself and to show everyone what he has to offer.

"I've always had a chip on my shoulder," Waddington said. "Whether that was being cut from a team or not making the best team during my basketball career. My parents always told me to just keep working and to show them what you can do."

Before he was on the varsity team at Temple, Waddington served as a team manager. He had tried out for the team and wanted to play as a walk-on, and was finally able to make it last year. It was a striking change from his high school days, Waddington said, from when he was the leading scorer on the varsity team at Central Bucks South High School in Warrington.

"I'd think the biggest change for me was when I was a manager after having a successful high school career was being humbled," Waddington said. "You don't get the recognition that all the players get as a manager and you're just doing your role to the best of your ability. You just try to help the team as best as you can. Those guys have a great attitude every day and try to help us as a team to get better. Players can take it for granted sometimes, but I know what it takes to be a manager and how frustrating it can be. I appreciate the work those guys do every day."

"To have that 'the guy' role taken away from me was life-changing," he said. "I had never faced a great deal of adversity before. I learned to never sell myself short and never give up on what you want. Never let someone tell you that you can't do something."

Humility and hard work became the theme of his first two years at Temple, Waddington said. He learned humility as a team manager, but he also learned humility from former head coach Fran Dunphy.

"Coach Dunphy helped me in terms of humility and doing everything the right way," Waddington explained. "He helped me in understanding that it's not just about you. It's bigger than you. Basketball is a team sport."

After two years of being humbled, yet continuing to work hard both on the court and off, he was finally able to make the team. It was the best day of his life, Waddington said.

"Making it onto the team meant my hard work, my resilience was validated," he explained. "All the frustrating times as being a manager had come full circle. It was the best feeling in the world and the best day of my life."

Making it onto the team also helped him get closer to another one of his goals, Waddington said. He had grown up watching Big 5 basketball in Philadelphia and had always dreamed of playing at The Palestra and being involved in Big 5 basketball.

"My dad used to take me to Temple games when I was little," Waddington added. "My dad is a big La Salle guy and he took me to those games and many other Big 5 games. Playing Big 5 basketball means the world to me. Some of my teammates -- they don't really realize how much this means to people."

His dad was the one who originally got him interested in playing basketball in the first place, Waddington said. His dad had coached his sister's basketball teams throughout her career, so Waddington would sit on the sidelines and watch his dad and sister at work.

"My dad taught me everything I know about basketball in the driveway of our house or at my sister's practices," Waddington said. "He was always the biggest advocate for me to play basketball before I even knew I liked the game. I grew to like basketball because I was around people like my dad who loved being around the game."

It was his dad who helped him to love basketball, but he also taught him the work ethic and determination that Waddington carries with him today. His parents were the ones who taught him the phrase "show them what you can do," which he has carried into his Temple days.

Waddington did just that by making the team as a walk-on, but he has also taken that phrase and his strong work ethic into his schoolwork. Waddington was named to the Temple President's Honor Roll in 2019 for having a GPA of 3.5 or higher. He also worked a summer internship with AXA Advisors, helping him further his career in financial planning.

"I'm smart, but I'm not the smartest guy in the room," Waddington said. "But, I work my tail off for good grades and success on the basketball court. It's a lot of doing things you don't want to do or when you're tired. Balancing basketball and school can be really demanding physically and mentally sometimes, but it pays off in the long run to work hard."

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No One Works Harder than Men's Basketball Senior Tim Waddington

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