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DRAFT PROFILE: GARRET BILLINGS

09/08/2009

Copy by Peter Flynn for NLL.com

Garret Billings has shown enough lacrosse skills both in the box and on the field to be an early pick in the 2009 NLL Entry Draft on September 9th at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. Billings played his lacrosse at the University of Virginia and with the Burnaby (British Columbia) Lakers. He won a National Championship as a freshman at Virginia. In 2005 he was named to the Inside Lacrosse All-Freshman team and was one of thirty rookies to score at least 30 goals. In 2007 Billings was one of the team leaders in both goals (21) and assists (22). That year Billings was a member of the All-ACC Tournament Team. In 2008 Billings was second on his team in goals with 36, assists with 25, and points with 61. Billings was an honorable mention All-American for the first time in his career that year and was again named to the All-ACC Tournament team with 65 percent of his shots on goal. In 2009 he led The Cavaliers with 38 goals and also scored 59 points, had a .333 shooting percentage, 3 game winning goals and 39 ground balls. In 2009, against Stony Brook, Billings tied a Virginia record with eight goals. During his illustrious collegiate career he went to the NCAA Semi finals three out of four years and was ranked in the top ten in scoring in the ACC all four years.

Billings was also a phenomenal player in Canada's Junior Lacrosse circuit. He was a leading scorer for the Burnaby Lakers when they won the Minto cup in 2004 and 2005. In 2004 Billings was the scoring champ with 29 goals and 46 assists. He was named the leagues most sportsmanlike player and was named to the first All-Star Team. In 2005 Billings was again the scoring champion with 52 goals and 52 assists. He was also named to the leagues first All-Star team for a second consecutive year.

Inside Lacrosse writer Christian Sweezy points out that Billings was praised by coaches and players alike. He quotes Virginia senior attackman Danny Glading; "As a player, he has the same characteristics he has as a person, He never gets rattled, he's always laid back. He has a quiet determination about him. Even though it looks like he's not going his hardest on the field, he's so crafty that he knows what he needs to do to score." And "He had eight goals and three assists [against Stony Brook this year] and everything he touched was either going in or going to someone who put it in the goal, But he carried himself after that game the same way he always carries himself. I know he had to be happy inside, but outside he was quiet and humble as always." In that same article Virginia coach Dom Starsia says of Billing's abilities that "He doesn't have that extraordinary knack of being automatic around the goal. At the same time, he's got a field sense that's at the very top of the game." Billings could be a top pick in the 2009 NLL Entry Draft on September 9th.