While high school football standouts enjoy their big college letter signing day in early February, athletes from other sports can sign their national letters of intent in November – thus the reason for celebrations at both St. Anthony and Memorial over the last few weeks.
At St. Anthony, two members of the school’s renowned basketball team put their autographs to letters of intent that will enable them both to go to NCAA Division I schools on a scholarship, packages that total almost $500,000.
At Memorial, a baseball standout put his John Hancock on a letter than enables him to move on to play major college baseball for free, the school’s first baseball scholarship player in 15 years.
First, the celebration at St. Anthony for seniors Markis McDuffie and Mohamed Bendary, who shared their big moment with the entire student body, with a group of special visitors from neighboring grammar schools and with famed radio, television and movie celebrity Bo Dietl, who is known for his work on the Imus in the Morning radio and TV show and more recently for his work on the Arby’s TV commercials. Dietl was a guest speaker for the ceremony.
For McDuffie, this day was anticipated from the moment he walked into the tiny school on Eighth Street in downtown Jersey City. For the last three years, the 6-foot-9 McDuffie has been recognized as one of the premier hoopsters in the entire country, a player who earned a reputation for resembling his favorite player, namely reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Kids started calling me ‘K.D.’ so much that I didn’t even know my own name,” McDuffie joked. “It’s amazing because he’s one of my favorite players.”
McDuffie said that he started to be compared with Durant because they both have a lanky frame and both have an uncanny ability to shoot from the perimeter despite their height.
“It means a lot to me to be compared to him,” McDuffie said.
McDuffie’s abilities earned him scholarship offers all over the country, including schools like Seton Hall, Rutgers, Maryland, Virginia Commonwealth and Boston College.
However, it was Wichita State that won out and McDuffie signed with the Shockers, who shocked everyone last year by winning their first 32 games of the season before losing to eventual NCAA Tourney finalist Kentucky.
“It was the best fit for me,” said McDuffie, who called Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall to tell him the good news last week before the signing. “At first, I almost didn’t go there, because on my visit there, I got stuck at O’Hare Airport [in Chicago] for 15 hours. I wanted to go back home. But when I got there to Wichita, it was 12 a.m. and they were all waiting for me to take me out to eat. I got put up in a nice hotel. I saw the school in the morning and I knew right there and then I could fit in.
Added McDuffie, “It might be a little bit of a distance from home, but I feel it’s the best fit for me.”
McDuffie celebrated the day by wearing a Wichita State hat and Shockers’ sweatshirt. He already fits right in.
“There’s a sense of relief involved,” McDuffie said. “I’m very blessed. I worked very hard to get to this point. It’s a dream come true, because I always dreamed of this day.”
Bendary, another 6-foot-9 player, was not as fortunate as McDuffie. His destiny as a major college player wasn’t stamped when he walked in the door at St. Anthony three years ago. In fact, as a young man of Egyptian background, he was destined to go to college to learn a trade, not play basketball.
“When I was a freshman here, the thought of me going Division I for basketball was simply insane,” Bendary said. “I just wanted to be good enough to get off the street in Jersey City [Bidwell Avenue] where I live. That’s what motivated me.”
Bendary worked diligently on becoming a better basketball player, even though he didn’t see a lot of action for the Friars. But his talents caught the eye of the coaching staff at NJIT in Newark, in particular assistant coach Brian Kennedy, and Bendary signed with NJIT last week.
“There’s a good Muslim population in Newark,” Bendary said. “I have cousins who are at Rutgers-Newark and others at NJIT. It’s a perfect fit for me. I’m going to major in economics and finance and go for my MBA in four years. I think it’s a great place for me.”
NJIT already has a former Friar on its roster in sophomore Tim Coleman, who starts at power forward for the Highlanders. Bendary was in attendance Monday night when the Highlanders tipped off their season with a victory over Maine.
“I’m going to get a chance to play against the best competition,” said Bendary, who hopes to get a chance to play for the Egyptian national team one day. “I really wanted to become a good basketball player so bad. I worked so hard. This is more than a dream come true for me.”
Bendary and McDuffie will lead the Friars as they begin their season next month.
“It’s a very exciting time for us,” said legendary St. Anthony coach Bob Hurley, who now also serves as the school’s president. “These two young men are academically qualified, which means they will get to play at the Division I college level right away. It’s a tremendous opportunity for both of them. They put a lot of hard work in playing basketball and this is a reward.”
It was also a reward for Memorial baseball standout Steven Acosta, who signed his national letter of intent with Stony Brook University on Long Island, a school with an up-and-coming baseball program, one that shocked the NCAA Division I world two summers ago, when the Seawolves upset defending national champion LSU in the College World Series.
Acosta, a West New York native who attends High Tech High School in North Bergen, is a pitcher and infielder for Memorial in the spring. But Acosta will be strictly a pitcher at Stony Brook.
“I had a total of about eight offers, but I chose Stony Brook back in July,” said Acosta, who had his signing ceremony at High Tech. “It’s an amazing feeling. After I went there for an official visit, I knew it’s where I wanted to go. I’m excited I can go there and focus on pitching. I feel that’s what I do best.”
Acosta threw a no-hitter, striking out 14, in a game against Ferris last spring.
“It’s really a dream come true,” said Acosta, who weighed offers from Marist, NJIT and Seton Hall among others and earned his scholarship by sending out information to about 125 schools on his own. “About 50 schools got back to me and 22 or so came to see me play. It was a lot of hard work, but it paid off.”
Memorial head coach Danny Marroquin was elated for his star pitcher.
“He’s my first kid to sign Division I,” said Marroquin, who became the head coach at Memorial after the passing of legendary Tony Ferrainolo three years ago. “It’s a big thing for our program. It shows the kids of West New York that anything is possible, as long as you’re good enough. You can fulfill a dream like Steven. He’s our building block.”
Acosta becomes the first Memorial player to go to a Division I program since Santiago Chi and Jayson Rodriguez went to Seton Hall in 1999. Truly, proud moments at two local schools. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.