Weehawken High School’s latest basketball superstar came to the school by way of California and two different Hudson County high schools before arriving in Weehawken.
But at this point, no one cares how McKay LeDuke came to be.
Even his name is of marquee value, something that belongs in lights at your neighborhood movie theater. When you hear his name, you almost think that it can’t be real.
When you think of what LeDuke has done and accomplished since he arrived in Weehawken last year, it’s almost unfathomable.
LeDuke arrived in Weehawken last year after spending his first two years of high school at St. Anthony and later Marist. After sitting out the first semester, LeDuke debuted with a bang, scoring 25 points and hauling down 17 rebounds in a win.
As a matter of fact, the Indians won almost every game that LeDuke played last year, reeling off the first 12 straight before losing in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group I playoffs.
“I didn’t think that I would have made that much of an impact,” LeDuke said. “It was a perfect fit. The team had great chemistry. It was pretty amazing. I always thought I was a pretty good player. I just needed an opportunity to show it. I thought I played the way I knew I could play.”
So when the Indians convened for the start of the 2014-15 season, the expectations were higher, because the talented 6-foot-7 sharpshooter and ferocious rebounder originally from Los Angeles was returning for his senior year.
“I was born in Los Angeles, but we moved to Jersey City when I was 12 years old,” LeDuke said. “My mother’s job transferred her to New York, so we moved. It was first one of the worst things that could happen to me. It really was hard.”
But the 12-year-old LeDuke, who already had developed a love of basketball, found a haven to hone his craft – the Jersey City Boys and Girls Club.
“I went there and really started to learn,” LeDuke said. “I credit my coach Frank Burno [the older brother of current University of Florida assistant coach and former St. Anthony great Rashon Burno] for starting me with my conditioning and helping me grow as a player.”
When the time came to choose a high school, LeDuke first went to St. Anthony, but felt like he didn’t fit in well there. LeDuke spent his entire freshman year at St. Anthony, but then transferred to Marist.
“I didn’t even stay the year there,” LeDuke said. “I played five games with the varsity and that was it.”
At the time, the LeDuke family had moved to Weehawken, so the family all thought that it would be better for McKay to transfer to his home district.
“It made more sense,” LeDuke said. “I was going to get more of a high school experience in Weehawken.”
Veteran Weehawken head boys’ basketball coach Jake McNish didn’t know much about LeDuke before he arrived last January.
“When he walked into the gym, I knew he was a tall kid,” McNish said. “But I didn’t know how good he was.”
But it didn’t take a genius to see how talented LeDuke was. Stevie Wonder could see it.
“He’s the most talented kid I’ve ever had,” McNish said.
And he’s only been coaching at Weehawken for nearly 30 years, the last 23 as head coach. That says a lot.
So when the current season began last month, the expectations were just a little higher than they were a year ago at this point. After all, the Indians also had top scorer Alain Ravelo returning, but it’s a lot about the kid with the movie marquee name.
“I think just because he’s more comfortable now with the people who he’s playing with,” McNish said. “He’s also more comfortable how we’re playing. He’s improved his skills. He played AAU basketball over the summer at a high level with Under Armour and went to places like Atlanta, Las Vegas and Texas. It helped that he was playing with and against the best competition.”
LeDuke has started the 2014-15 season in fine fashion, registering double figures in scoring and rebounding in each of the first four games. He was averaging 13.6 points and 16 rebounds per contest.
But what he did in his fifth game against Saddle Brook is what defies comprehension.
In the Indians’ 73-43 win, LeDuke registered a quadruple double, meaning that he collected double figures in points, rebounds, steals and assists, a complete rarity. LeDuke had 13 points, 17 rebounds, 11 steals and 10 assists.
“I didn’t even realize it,” McNish said. “I upload the stats after every game to the websites and wasn’t even paying attention. I was watching the video of the game and my assistant coach said, ‘You know McKay had a quadruple double.’ That’s the first time that ever happened to me as a coach.”
LeDuke also had 18 points and 16 rebounds in the Indians’ 50-46 loss to Dwight-Englewood last Monday.
For his efforts, LeDuke has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
McNish is pleased with the way LeDuke has been playing.
“He just makes everyone around him better,” McNish said. “He brings everyone up to his level. Even in practice, he gets everyone going. He’s almost a little too unselfish. I tell him he needs to look for his shot more. I tell him he needs to be more selfish and shoot. Teams are throwing junk defenses at him, like double and triple teaming him, so there are others being left wide open. But McKay needs to look for the shot more.”
LeDuke doesn’t want to rest on his laurels.
“It feels great, but we have so much more to do,” LeDuke said. “Hopefully, we can keep winning [the Indians own a 4-3 record after seven games] and we can go pretty far [in the Hudson County and state tournaments].”
While LeDuke has put up impressive numbers, collecting double figures in rebounding in all seven games, he does not have a firm college offer.
“I’m not surprised, but I’m a little disappointed,” said LeDuke, who has received some interest from Monmouth, St. Peter’s, several NCAA Division II schools and a lot of Division III programs. “I’m pretty sure I can play at the Division I level, but I know it’s hard being from a small school like Weehawken. I just hope my confidence stays at a high level and I’ll get a chance. I don’t think I’ve proven anything yet. The stats really don’t mean that much to me.”
But the stats tell a tremendous picture.
“He’s meeting expectations,” McNish said. “But I always tell him that there’s more left, that there’s more bread on the table. He can be better defensively. He has to learn to play more with his back to the basket. He works on his ball handling skills. There’s room to improve, but McKay knows that there’s always room for improvement.”
“I just try to go out and absorb as much as I can,” LeDuke said. “The only mistake I made was not coming to Weehawken sooner. I don’t think anyone could have predicted this.” – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.