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Keydren Clark |
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Dime Magazine
They used to laugh at Keydren Clark. The older kids at the Hamilton Park Courts in Harlem would never let the young kid play because he was always so much small than everyone else. Today, “Kee Kee,” as he’s been called since his youth, is still usually the smallest cat on the court. The difference now is that Clark’s the one doing the laughing. At just 5-10, the St. Peter’s College star junior point guard in Division I’s leading scorer, as of press time giving opponents 25.5 points per game. Blessed with track-star speed with the ball and crazy range on his jumper from deep, he cuts up defenses with his ability to go anywhere he wants to on the court, slashing to the rim or raining jumpers. In less than three seasons, he has already surpassed the 2,000-career point mark, has scored over 40 twice, over 30 six times and his lowest output of this year was 14. The junior guard is not just a one-dimensional player either – he’s the team leader in dimes (4.0) and steals (3.4) as well. “You have to work 10 times harder when you are my height,” Clark says. “When I was younger, nobody thought I could even play high school ball because of my height. But as time when on, the game came to me like second nature and now nobody can stop me.” “I am pleasantly surprised at Keydren’s rise to stardom,” says Bob Leckie, St. Peter’s head coach and the man who took a chance on an undersized shooting-guard from Rich High School in New York City. “I never expected he would be this prolific scorer we know today. Early in his career he had 48 in an overtime loss to Northern Arizona and the he came home and had 44 against St. Francis in the very next game. I knew then I had something special here.” The exploits of Coach Leckie’s star haven’t gone unnoticed. For the first time maybe ever, the NBA is watching the tiny college that calls Jersey City home. “I’ll tell you what, he makes baskets – and a lot of them,” says an NBA scout. “He’s not like a lot of small guys who just take the ball to the hoop off their quickness. Threes, pull-ups, he’s death on the break. He comes flying down the floor at a breakneck speed and pulls up and there’s nothing you can do. He’s a helluva lot of fun to watch. “He’s a lot like Earl Boykins. What Boykins ha done has shown that guys this size can play at the highest level. I mean when they put Earl into the game, it’s to score. And that is exactly what Keydren is in the game to do.” “After the season is over, I’m going to suggest that he puts his name in the draft,” Leckie says. “I know he won’t be a first round pick but I want to get the buzz going about him so I can get a feel for what’s going on. “I’ve talked to a few people in the NBA and one their main concerns is defense. They know the offensive package is there. So we have stressed that to him. But it’s tough for a guy who handles the ball, is our go-to-guy and plays 40 minutes a game and then you expect him to play great defense.” When talking to Keydren, he always says that he values wins ahead of his own personal stats. But while Clark would like to be as much of a team player as possible the reality is: as Kee Kee goes, so do the Peacocks. And that is why his coach has given him the freedom to do what he wants with the ball every time down the floor. “There’s a lot of pressure to deal with being the nation’s leading scorer,” Clark says. “First, you want to get your teammates involved as much as possible and find the open man at all time because the defense is always all over you. Second, way from my team, the fans, reporters and scouts expect you to score so many points every time you are on the floor.” “I’ve got a gem here and I’m gonna make it shine,” Leckie says. “It’s fun to coach Keydren, but has it been difficult at times? Absolutely. You are dealing with hum beings. There are jealousies and there are plenty of people who thing if I were able to give them the same freedom they too could lead the nation in scoring but hey, we know better than that.”
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| © 2008 Glen Nigel Straub |
