A year ago, Keydren “Keekee” Clark was a virtual unknown, a 5-9 point guard out of Rice High School in New York who was expected to be just another player in a floundering St. Peter’s College program.
However, no one could have ever expected what transpired. Clark, who averaged just 13 points per game during his senior year of high school, became the most prolific freshman scorer in the history of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and produced the highest single season scoring mark in the school’s history.
Clark averaged 24.9 points per game, good for sixth in the entire nation, as the Peacocks improved from 4-24 in 2001-2002 to 10-19 a year ago. His 722 points broke the school record for points in a season, established by the great Elnardo Webster during the “Run, Baby, Run” glory days at SPC in the 1960s.
Clark’s 109 3-point field goals set a new NCAA record for freshmen. Clark, the MAAC and New York Metropolitan Rookie of the Year, energized the entire program, which won only four games in each of the prior two seasons.
As Harvard on the Boulevard kicked off its 2003-04 season last Monday night at Lafayette, Clark wasn’t looking for a repeat performance – because he knows that the Peacocks have added some talented players that will hopefully compliment Clark’s immense talents.
“It’s a great feeling knowing that you have other people who can step up and help the team,” Clark said. “It makes my job a lot easier and now I can let the game come to me. With the new guys we have around me, we’re going to be a more competitive team this year.”
St. Peter’s head coach Bob Leckie, who enters his fourth season coaching at his alma mater, knows that his team should make considerable progress this year.
“I think we have to start thinking about a minimum of 15 to 16 wins,” said Leckie, who played for SPC during the program’s glory years of the 1960s, including a berth in the National Invitation Tournament semifinals in 1968. “Although that would be a quantum leap, I think we have the personnel to do that. We don’t need Keydren to do what he did last year. His point production may go down, but his efficiency will go up.”
The Peacocks have added a lot of talented transfers, including 6-6 forward Ron Yates (from Maryland-Baltimore County), 6-7 forward Jamie Sowers (a former St. Patrick’s of Elizabeth standout who first attended Wichita State), 6-5 forward Mark Curry (the Seton Hall Prep product who first attended the University of Delaware) and 6-3 guard Terrance Watkins, who played for Leckie at Bishop Loughlin in New York in the high school ranks, where he earned All-New York City honors during his senior year nearly six years ago.
Yates will miss the first few games, nursing a stress fracture in his foot. Sowers is ineligible to play until after the first semester ends Dec. 20. Watkins will be a player of impact.
“I really expect a lot from Terrence,” Leckie said. “He’s a warrior.”
Another newcomer to make a positive impact will be 6-0 shooting guard Shane Nichols, a freshman from Radford, Va. who has a strong shooting touch from the perimeter.
“He’s a flat-out shooter with a deadly stroke,” Leckie said.
“Shane’s going to open up a lot of opportunities for me,” Clark said. “We’re going to be able to get the ball out on transition. I hope people will keep gunning for me, because with the focus off me, we’ll have others who can shoot the ball.”
Junior Ivan Bozovic, a native of Serbia, returns. The 6-9 Bozovic averaged 4.9 points and 2.4 rebounds last season. He will start the season at power forward until Yates and Sowers return.
Senior Regis Devonish, a 6-5 sharpshooter from Houston, also returns. Devonish averaged 5.5 points per game a year ago. Amir Ali, a 6-11 senior, has to improve on the 1.8 points and 2.3 rebounds he provided per game last season.
But the optimism is there. After three downtrodden seasons, the Peacocks vow to make dramatic improvement in 2003-04.
“No question, we’re a guard-oriented team,” Leckie said. “We have to use our athleticism and quickness. This is certainly the most talented team I’ve had since I’ve been here. I’m looking forward to it. I believe we can surprise some teams this year.”
But the team still begins and ends with Clark, who scored 35 points in the season opener against Lafayette, a 74-71 loss. Clark spent the summer working out with the U.S. National Under-19 team in Colorado Springs, where he played with such prestigious players as J.J. Redick of Duke and Dee Brown of Illinois. He also played for the NIT All-Stars, which traveled the globe in several fine settings.
“I think this summer was my wake-up call,” Clark said. “I know now that I am capable of playing with anyone at any time. I had a chance to play with some of the best players in the country.”
It’s safe to say that Clark is one of those top players as well, a player who will bring a host of exciting times to Yanitelli Center again this season. – Jim Hague