Photos courtesy of Rutgers University Athletics
Super Hoopster Paul Mulcahy does Bayonne proud By Jim Hague
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sunny, 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
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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 first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1991. Mulcahy has become the best hoopster from Bayonne since Corey Stokes graduated from Villanova in 2011.
GENE POOL 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 first 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 first 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 flag 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.”
