Hall of Fame
At first, basketball was no different than any other sport for Mark Bellai.
Like most kids, he grew up playing many different sports and basketball was just one of many that he played when the time of the year came around. It wasn’t until grade ten when Bellai began to excel on the basketball court that he developed a love for the game and think that he could play at an elite level.
“In elementary school and high school you really just play every sport,” says Bellai. “When I was in grade ten I started to get better at basketball and I really just became addicted to it. My high school coach Mike Foster was a great guy and he would open the gym for us at 7am every day and put us through a few drills. When I was in grade 11 we started to go to University of Guelph and play pick-up games against some of the players from their team. I realized then I could hang with those guys on the court and thought I might be able to play at a high level.”
That high level ended being with the York Yeomen after Bellai was heavily recruited by the Yeomen’s legendary head coach Bob Bain. Playing for Bain and the appeal of the living in the big city drew Bellai to the York campus.
“Guelph was a little smaller back then, so I thought going to bigger city like Toronto for a few years would be exciting,” says Bellai on his decision to come to York. “Coach Bain had recruited me for a few years and me and my family really liked Bob a lot. We thought he was a good, honest guy and we were happy to make the decision to go York.”
Bellai found instant success on the court with the Yeomen, averaging 13.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in his rookie season. Even as a young player on the team Bellai stepped into a leadership role almost right away. He was named a team captain for four of his five years with the team and averaged 19.9 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game during his time with the team. He also earned three OUAA first-team all-stars and three team MVP’s over the course of his career.
After five spectacular seasons with the Yeomen, Bellai graduated from York as the second leading scorer in OUAA history and is still currently ranked in the top-20 in the OUA. A deadly shooter with range, Bellai is York’s all-time leader in three pointers made and remains fourth all-time in scoring. He also attracted national attention during his time at York and was invited to participate in selection camps for both the Canadian National and Olympic basketball teams. While he has some great memories of his time on the court with the Yeomen, he also remembers the time spent off the court with his teammates as some of his fondest memories.
“I remember we went to B.C. for a tournament in my first year,” says Bellai. “I’d never actually been on a plane before and the whole team flew out to B.C. to play some teams from out west. It was just awesome, we played at Victoria and took the ferry across to the island. Those are the things that really stand out for me from my time at York.”
Bellai stayed involved with basketball after leaving York, teaming with some friends in the Guelph area to compete on the highly competitive 3 on 3 circuit. The team played together until five years ago and were very successful, winning the national championship on three separate occasions.
During his time at York, Bellai met his wife Katherine who he has now been married to for 25 years. After graduating from York they went to teacher’s college together and now living in Orangeville, Ont., with their two kids Hannah (18) and Aidan (14). Both kids are highly involved in sports as Hannah is a competitive volleyball player with the hopes of playing at the university level next year. Aidan has taken after his Dad, spending hours per day playing basketball and playing on the rep team which Bellai coaches.
