SUPER HOOPSTER

By Jim Hague

Asunny, warm spring morning at Bayonne’s Edward Clark Park enabled dozens of preteens to forget about the perils and pain of COVID-19.

Two of the kids wore bright red headbands. Why?

“Paul Mulcahy wears a red head band,” Aaron Hemingway-Ward, 11, answered quickly. “He’s a great player and he’s from Bayonne.”

Bright smiling Eddie Charles added, “Yeah, Paul Mulcahy. He’s my man. Just do me a favor. Don’t tell my mom you saw me out here today.”

Oops, sorry Eddie.

That’s what Paul Mulcahy has become, and not just for Bayonne’s youth. He’s emerging as a role model for everyone, on and off the court. He’s a superstar, a do-everything for the Scarlet Knights, who won 16 games last season, competing in the toughest league in the country, the Big 10 Conference.

The 6-foot-6 Mulcahy averaged nearly six points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals, seeing action in all 28 games, leading Rutgers to its fi rst appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1991. Mulcahy has become the best hoopster from Bayonne since Corey Stokes graduated from Villanova in 2011.

Mulcahy comes from strong athletic roots. His father, also named Paul, was a great high-stepping, strong and quick running back at St. Peter’s Prep in Jersey City. He helped to lead the Marauders to their fi rst NJSIAA Non-Public Group IV state championship in 1989, upsetting the state’s top-ranked St. Joseph Regional of Montvale 22-21, coming back to win after trailing 21-0 in the fi rst half.

“My dad never forced football on me,” Mulcahy said. “I could throw a football pretty well.”

His younger brother Teague is a standout baseball pitcher at St. Peter’s and will head to the University of Hartford in the fall on a scholarship.

But Paul took to basketball at an early age.

“When I was little, I played all sports,” Mulcahy said. “I ran track, played fl ag football, soccer, baseball. But I started to love basketball, and it’s always been my favorite sport. I think I really got hooked watching Jason Kidd in the 2008 Olympics. I wanted to be like Jason Kidd or LeBron James.”

Mulcahy became a regular at the Bayonne Police Activity League and the Jersey City Boys Club, where he played for Frank Burno, former head coach at Marist High School.

When the time came to pick a high school, Mulcahy considered his father’s alma mater, as well as the two schools in his hometown, and gave thought to state basketball powerhouses, Hudson Catholic and the now-closed St. Anthony in Jersey City.

“Nothing wrong with Bayonne, but I just needed to get out,” Mulcahy said.

Around that time he was introduced to Mergin Sina, head coach at Gill St. Bernard’s, a small private coeducational school in rural Somerset County’s Peapack-Gladstone.

Sina, a former top-fl ight college basketball player at Seton Hall in the 1990s, liked what he saw in Mulcahy as a grade school player.

“The fi rst time I saw him, he was about 11 or 12,” Sina said. “He just had a knack for playing hard. Everything was aggressive. His IQ in every aspect of the game was off the charts.”

Mulcahy said, “I met Mergin Sina, and he brought up the idea of me going to Gill.”

Doing the excruciating commute with his sister Nyla, also a Gill student, helped.

“We would leave Bayonne every day at 5 a.m. to get to Newark Penn Station to get the bus that brought us to school,” Mulcahy said. But, “it wasn’t fun, and it was a big sacrifi ce.”

And Gill was no walk in the park.

“I went through some tough patches there,” Mulcahy said. “I had an academically tough schedule.” AND THEN …

Just as Mulcahy was trying to keep his head above water as a student, disaster struck.

On Feb. 14, 2015, the most devastating event hit the Mulcahy family. A huge fi re destroyed their Bayonne home. Young Paul lost everything.

“I have to thank the Bayonne community,” Mulcahy said. “They really came out to support us. We were really fortunate to be surrounded by great people in Hudson County, in Bayonne. The people of Bayonne were so generous.” The family moved into a host of apartments before moving into their current home, a project that took about three years to complete.

Around the same time, colleges began to show interest in the lanky kid from Bayonne.

“It was a lot of fun,” Mulcahy said. “I got a lot of letters and a lot of recruiting calls from coaches. I would see guys from all these diff erent schools.”

Mulcahy had a brilliant career at Gill St. Bernard’s, earning First Team All-State honors as a senior, when he averaged 18.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game.

“Gill is a great school,” Mulcahy said. “I learned a lot there. I defi nitely became a better student in the classroom.”

During his junior year, he made his college choice known. He would play for Steve Pikiell at Rutgers.

“I think Coach Pikiell’s biggest selling point was that at Rutgers, I would be able to play close to home in the biggest conference in the country,” Mulcahy said. “It was cool to be a part of the close games in the Big 10. I think the struggles I had at Gill helped me at Rutgers.” COACH’S KUDOS

Pikiell knew that securing Mulcahy’s services was a coup.

“We consider Paul to be a superstar,” Pikiell said. “He’s a multi-positional player, and Paul’s smart enough to play the positions. He wins on and off the court. He has all the great qualities you want in a player. He’s really competitive. He knows that losing stinks. He’s also going to work very hard to get better.”

This past season was a joyous one for Mulcahy and the Scarlet Knights.

“I think we made a lot of people happy,” Mulcahy said. “People waited a long time for a season like this.”

And people in Bayonne waited a long time for a player like Paul.

“He’s a very aware young man,” Pikiell said. “He’s also very humble. He loves kids, and he’s very giving of his time. He’s a great role model.”

Ever since he was a kid, Mulcahy wore a headband. It’s become his trademark.

“Since I was about fi ve or six, my dad wanted people to remember me, sort of the ‘Headband Kid.’ Mulcahy said. “It’s a way of being myself, but now all my siblings wear headbands.”

“I’m more versatile,” Mulcahy said. “I can shoot it better. I’m defi nitely mentally stronger. I can do anything to help my team.”

Mulcahy helps everyone, which is why he initiated the Grateful 4 Foundation. The 4 is for his uniform number.

“I’m just waiting for the NCAA’s approval,” Mulcahy said about the offi cial launch. “I want to be able to spread the idea of gratitude and selfl ess acts. I want to bring people from all walks of life together and do diff erent things. It’s been an idea of mine for about four years. Hudson County has people from all diff erent backgrounds. I know people would love to help.”

Mulcahy said that he plans on having a Day of Gratitude Clinic in the summer, bringing kids together to play basketball and learn about life.

“He’s a unique, special young man,” Pikiell said. “Wherever I go, people know who he is.”

Sina said, “When that kid steps on the fl oor, the game literally changes for the better. If you’re a player, and you’re not happy playing with that kid, then there’s something wrong with you. With his work ethic and IQ, he’s a coach’s dream. Don’t be surprised if that kid ends up on an NBA team.”

That’s the goal.

“There’s a chance I could play in the NBA,” said Mulcahy, who’s majoring in human resources and sports management. “I just want to play basketball for as long as possible.”

It’s not surprising that as founder of the Grateful 4 Foundation, he feels gratitude

“I’m grateful to the people who helped me along the way,” Mulcahy said.

And grateful for being Bayonne’s best basketball player in over a decade. Maybe longer.—BLP