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F A C U LT Y W H O P L A Y E D D 1 B A S K E T B A L L
From MARCH MADNESS .......... BASKETBALL ODYSSEY: FORMER ST. PETER’S STAR GUIDES BOYS VARSITY PROGRAM
he came out of college, shoot-first point guards were uncommon. It was unsettling to the basketball establishment to see a confident kid routinely sinking deep 3-pointers as if they were layups. This, of course, was not lost on Clark, who competed at the NBA pre-draft camp following college and was ranked as the 13th-best player.
The chance to play college basketball was life-changing for Keydren Clark. Clark, who has coached the varsity boys basketball team at The Masters School since 2020, blossomed like a vibrant spring tulip when he ventured in 2002 to Jersey City to attend Saint Peter’s College. “Getting a college scholarship and going to school for free was everything,” said Clark, who honed his skills as a child at the Alexander Hamilton Playground courts in Harlem. “I was the first in my family to do so — to get a free ride and have an opportunity to play a Division I sport. Reflecting on it, it was the best time of my life. I met some great people and made some great friends. It enabled me to want more for myself.”
KEYDREN CLARK
Clark maximized his talents at Saint Peter’s, morphing from an undersized and under-recruited New York City point guard into a bona fide superstar on the national stage. The 5-foot-11 Clark took college basketball by storm, utilizing his deft sharpshooting abilities to twice lead NCAA Division I in scoring. He graduated from Saint Peter’s in 2006 as the sixth all-time leading scorer in Division I history and is currently ninth on the list — two spots ahead of NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson. “If you put in the hard work and are determined, you can maximize your ability and go on to do things even when people doubt you,” said Clark, who attended a few of the Peacocks’ NCAA tournament games during this past March’s historic run to the Elite Eight. Clark, however, wasn’t satisfied with just being a legendary college player. Determined to see just how far he could take his passion for basketball, Clark went overseas and competed professionally for 13 years. “I was playing in countries — Turkey, Russia, Italy, Greece, France and China — that I never thought I’d even go to, especially as an inner city kid," he said. “All these wonderful places that I read about in books, I was able to go there and live and experience the culture. And this was all because I was able to put a basketball in the hoop.” Under different circumstances and in a different time, there’s a good chance Clark would have gotten a real shot with an NBA team. When
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BULLETIN Spring 2022
“I was born too early,” he said with a slight chuckle. “The shots that I was taking back then weren’t accepted. Sometimes, I think if I were playing now — and I believe this in my heart — that I’d be an NBA player. But that’s just how things go. I still carved out a beautiful career for myself, so there are no hard feelings. I just laugh at how the game has changed and my shots were bad shots then and now they are the shots that everyone takes.”
Clark was tipped off about the Masters’ coaching opening via a family friend and has since transitioned from the role of superstar player to trusted coach and mentor for the School’s varsity basketball players. “I share my story with Masters students to let them know,” Clark said. “As a kid, I was just like them. I didn’t know a lot. I knew I could play and had a great outside shot, but that was it. I was kind of limited, but I showed up every day and believed in myself.” Clark has focused on helping the Panthers improve by challenging them day in and day out at practices and in games. “The most important thing for them is playing against better talent, so they can look themselves in the mirror and see they actually need to work,” Clark said. “They have so much access to everything, so there’s no reason for them to not improve — if they truly want to play this sport. That’s what I stress to them.” For Clark, the love of basketball has always been a constant. Saint Peter’s nourished that passion and forever transformed his life. “I look back at it and think that college was the best thing that could’ve happened to me,” Clark said. “It opened my eyes to so much more in the world that I was blind to because of where I came from. Basketball, to me, was everything. It was my way out to a better life. I’m thankful to my mom and dad for putting a basketball in my hands. The rest is history.”
