Icies Hammer was sticking to her initial thought no matter what.
All throughout her basketball playing career at North Bergen, Hammer believed that she was an NCAA Division I player, even if no school had given her an offer.
“It was my dream and it’s what I believed in,” Hammer said.
Even veteran head coach Dan Reardon thought that the recruiting efforts for Hammer were over and that she should consider going to a Division II school like Holy Family in Philadelphia, a program that really wanted Hammer.
“I thought Holy Family would have been a nice fit for her,” Reardon said.
But Hammer was persistent. Even with only a few months left before she was to register for freshman college classes, Hammer knew she could get a big-time offer.
Incredibly, she went to a talent showcase last month with her AAU team in North Carolina. There, she was introduced to the coaching staff at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck. Imagine, a girl from North Bergen had to travel to North Carolina to get spotted by the coach at a Division I school just a few miles away.
“I got a call from FDU, saying that they had a scholarship to give right away,” Reardon said. “The coaches were impressed with Icies.”
After all, it’s not every day that you find a 6-foot player with low post presence that could also go outside the 3-point circle and drain the long-range shot as well.
“They said that she has some game,” Reardon said. “It almost happened overnight.”
“I knew it was a good school and that this was a good offer,” Hammer said.
Last week, Hammer put her signature to a scholarship to FDU, becoming the first Division I product the Bruins produced since Lauren Jimenez went to James Madison in 2007.
“It’s a great honor,” Hammer said. “I knew Lauren was the last one. I am glad to be in the same class with her. I know she was a great player. I’m just happy I got my chance.”
Hammer will major in special education at FDU.
“She really can do it all,” Reardon said. “She can shoot with both hands. She can make layups and then go outside. It’s a thrill for me. I guess I get to send one to [Division I basketball] every few years or so. I couldn’t be happier. She thought she could play Division I and she was right.”
Hammer said that it was nice that she gets to play so close to home where her parents and grandmother can come to see her play.
But the bottom line was simple. Hammer believed she was a D-I scholarship player and sure enough, she was…
Kenny Roder has to begin to wonder what he has to do as a pitcher to get noticed by Major League Baseball scouts.
The talented Hoboken left-handed pitcher, who was the two-time Hudson Reporter Pitcher of the Year and Most Valuable Player, went on to play at Howard Junior College in Texas after not getting drafted and not getting any big-time scholarship offers, despite having the best control of any pitcher who ever played high school baseball in Hudson County.
In Roder’s senior year at Hoboken, he won eight games, allowed just 31 hits in 86 innings, struck out a school record 172 batters and walked just six for the entire year. That’s right, just six walks.
Well, Roder has continued that incredible control on the JUCO level, posting an 8-0 record with a 2.18 earned run average. He struck out 76 in 78 innings pitched and allowed just nine walks.
So why won’t the baseball gods shine on Roder?
“Over the course of the season, I talked to a few scouts,” Roder said. “They said that they would come to see me again, that I had the talent to be a first round pick. But they said if I was just six inches taller, they would draft me.”
Roder stands 5-foot-8. It didn’t stop Ron Guidry from being a Yankee legend. Why should it deter Roder?
“It’s extremely frustrating, but it just makes me work that much harder than anybody else,” said Roder, who will now pitch at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida in the fall. “The pitchers who are 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 don’t have what I have. Of course, I wish I was taller. I wonder what I’m doing wrong. I’m trying to prove everyone wrong. I don’t know what else I could do. I’d sign for nothing if it means I get a chance. I just want to play.”
The 21-year-old Roder is back in Hoboken now, taking the summer away from pitching, before heading to Lynn in the fall.
“I’m just going to work out and get stronger,” Roder said. “I’m satisfied with what I’ve done. I wouldn’t change anything.”
Roder then stopped and thought about the last comment.
“Well, besides my height,” Roder said…
There is one local softball team that is still alive in the NJSIAA state playoffs. Hudson Catholic defeated Villa Walsh last Tuesday, 9-2, to advance in the Non-Public B North state playoffs, thanks to three hits, including a two-run homer, from senior Kristin Cunning. Elizabeth Moyeno and Dayanara Flores each had three hits for the winners, who now face Morristown-Beard in the sectional semifinals. We’ll have more on the success of the Hawks next week…
Congrats to Greenville/West Side Babe Ruth president “Skip” Adams for his induction into the Babe Ruth Baseball Middle Atlantic Region Hall of Fame.
Adams has been the driving force for that excellent developmental baseball league for decades. It’s great to see Adams get recognition for his hard work and dedication to youngsters in Jersey City…
Best wishes to long-time St. Peter’s Prep wrestling coach Anthony Verdi, who has stepped down as coach to concentrate on his new duties within the school. Verdi is a credit to high school athletics and has the distinction of coaching the only state champions in Prep history, namely James Fox, Lenny Richardson and Christian Colucci just this past March. Verdi will be sorely missed as a coach…--Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.