When Keydren "Keekee" Clark arrived at St. Peter’s College in September from the famed and storied Rice High School basketball program in Harlem, he figured he might be able to play a little and score a little.
"I thought I might be able to average like 12 points and five assists," said the 5-7 freshman Clark. "Something like that."
SPC head coach Bob Leckie would have been happy with the same.
"I think the jury was still out on whether Keydren Clark could handle being a full-time point guard," Leckie said. "I really didn’t see the facet that he could become a prolific scorer."
Well, Clark has become one of the most prolific scorers in the school’s history. In just one week, Clark has etched his mark in the SPC record books.
It started with a 48-point explosion in an overtime loss to Northern Arizona, immediately followed with a 44-point effort in a win against St. Francis of New York. It was the first time ever that an SPC player had back-to-back 40-point performances.
These contests were Clark’s third and fourth collegiate games. Only four SPC players have ever scored more points in a single game. No freshman in the history of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference has ever scored more. He set the school’s freshman scoring record, breaking the old mark held by Jersey City native Shelton Gibbs – by 16 points. The 44-point performance was the all-time high total at SPC’s Yanitelli Center, which was built in 1975.
Remarkable? That’s an understatement.
"There’s no way we could have seen this facet of his game," Leckie said. "He has far exceeded any expectations we’ve had. And he’s done this in a couple of ways. One game [Northern Arizona], he shoots 10 of 16 from 3-point range. The next, he shoots 17 of 19 from the free throw line and had only one 3-pointer. He’s already shown us that he’s versatile, but he has a great aptitude for the game. He far exceeds his years."
Clark is averaging 30.8 points per game through his first four college games. He is shooting 40-84 (.476) overall from the field, 16-35 (.457) on 3-pointers and 27-34 (.794) on free throws.
It is a remarkable story for the guy who is easily the smallest player on the floor every time he plays.
"I never thought I could have a scoring outburst like this," Clark said. "The games were just going my way. I was hitting shots I don’t normally hit. I wasn’t trying to score 40 points. It just happened. No way could I have expected to score like this on the collegiate level. It’s been tremendous."
While the attention with posting consecutive 40-plus point explosions is nice, Clark said that he would be willing to trade it all in for a few wins.
"I really don’t care about points," Clark said. "I just want to help turn this program around and get some wins. I guess I’m starting to show some people that I can play point guard. It’s been tough for me, but I’m working on it."
Leckie thinks that Clark has brought a new feeling of enthusiasm to a program that has won only eight games in the last two years.
"Word is getting around," Leckie said. "He’s going to bring a new sense of enthusiasm and electricity to our campus. I hope every grammar school kid in Hudson County comes to see this kid play. You can definitely feel the difference he brings."
"I hope it means that people will come and see our team," Clark said. "It’s not just me."
But everyone roots for the little guy.
"It just goes to show you that you can’t judge a book by its cover," Clark said. "Maybe God is doing this for a reason." – Jim Hague