Tyrone “Turk” Mattison was member of the graduating class of 2005. With his amazing athletic ability, he was arguably one of the top-5 players in Canada in his senior year of high school. Tyrone Mattison is the only player in Ontario basketball history to win four 4A OFSAA championships in a row, winning finals MVP at the provincials in his last year. Leading the powerhouse OBA club Scarborough Blues(SBA) to provincial glory, he was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2005. Mattison obtained an athletic scholarship to Long Island University and played alongside Great Britain National Team player Kyle Johnson and was selected in the first round of the first NBL Canada draft, where he played one season with the Island Storm. Tyrone now has settled back into Toronto and is now a Primary School teacher for the Toronto District School Board. Here is his Eastern Commerce story.
Eastern had a great basketball tradition and basketball was a passion of mine at the time. So my decision naturally gravitated towards the Collegiate Institute. There were a couple of guys from my neighbourhood who were already in the basketball program at Eastern Commerce. I was informed by them of the constant care academically as well as athletically that was being provided by the wonderful staff at the school. It was something put in place that kept them on track and they felt that I would be a perfect fit to get what I desired of the next level. During my years at Eastern Commerce, there were a number of teachers that impacted my success throughout my ride. Here are some educators that come to mind: Donna Langille, Miss Khan, Trevor Bullen, Roy Rana and Lou Sialtsis. Coach “Big” John also, had a big hand in my maturity and growth. Their guidance was a major component to my education following high school. They taught me that preserving through the hard times will lead me to the good. My heart goes out to these people because their selfless acts of kindness was what I needed at the time to be where I am today. I would like to publically thank those people for their efforts.
I remember winning OFSAA gold for the first time as a junior aged player. Being the only junior player to make the senior team, I had the privilege to learn and play with players such as Jermaine Anderson, Tristan Blackwood, Kingsley Costain, and Ola Matti. Those guys taught me what it takes to win. Once I got my taste of hoisting up that OFSAA trophy, my thirst to win another OFSAA championship again increased more and more each year. I was always proud to see my teammates being honored for their hard work and sacrifices by earning their scholarships to NCAA schools. I know what hard work they put in to be blessed with receiving a scholarship and I was always happy to see their excitement. The greatest memory I take away from Eastern would be my graduation day. It was bittersweet because it went to fast. High school is such an important transition in your life and you start as a grade 9 student and before you know it, it’s over. I remember the smile on my mother’s face when she saw me walk up on stage to receive my diploma. That moment will forever be ingrained in my mind. Her tears of joy made everything I had to do to get to that point that much more gratifying. Being the oldest sibling, I wanted to show my sister and twin brothers that anything is possible with hard work and sacrifice.
I was blessed to be apart of the class of 2005 not just because it put me in a historical category winning four straight OFSAA titles but I was graced with such a strong and talented athletic class. From the Ronnie “Real Deal” Williams to Jevon “J-Shep” Shepherd. I feel that it was one of the best groups in the early 2000’s. All of the top players that could have went to prep schools chose to stay in Canada and compete with each other. And I was fortunate enough to be a part of this wonderful group of gentlemen. And at the forefront, was Eastern Commerce.
Written by Tyrone “Turk” Mattison
Submitted by Kareem Griffin of In Charge Sports & Entertainment
Edited and posted by Drew Ebanks
