Chess is probably my biggest hobby

Near-perfect SAT leads Hampton’s Donegan to MIT
By Chris Harlan, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, January 11, 2010
Last updated: 7:39 am

Tucked away inside Tim Donegan’s backpack, alongside his text books and homework, the Hampton senior carries with him a chessboard. Most know him for playing basketball, but Donegan can also take your knight and queen if you’re not careful.

He’s played chess longer than he’s played basketball.

“Chess is probably my biggest hobby,” said Donegan, a member of the school’s chess club. “We get together randomly whenever we can and get a game together. I keep the board in my backpack so that if we have free time at school, I can pull it out and play someone.”

The 6-foot-5 forward also plays online almost daily.

He’s one of Hampton’s best athletes and one of its best students, having earned a near-perfect score on his Scholastic Aptitude Test.

While on break for the holidays, Donegan accepted admission to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to play basketball for the Engineers.

The Cambridge, Mass., school plays at the NCAA Division III level.

“Academics were my first priority,” said Donegan, whose father is a physician and mother is a teacher. “Obviously, MIT is one of the best schools in the world.”

There, his 1570 SAT and 4.7 GPA were as important as his double-digit scoring average.

“Schools like MIT are still pretty hard to get into (even with good grades), so I was glad I had basketball to help me with that,” Donegan said, “because everyone who applies there has the same credentials.”

Here is the full article.