Lindsey Mack really didn’t want all the attention and fanfare that came with scoring the 1,000th point of her basketball gymnasium, the banners that were hung, confetti tossed and hugs abound as the Patriots trounced the Patriots, 70-47.
“I first thought that I could get a thousand rebounds,” Mack said. “But never did I dream of getting a thousand points, especially as a junior. I thought it was impossible. It’s all so unreal.”
But the impossible became reality last Saturday, when Mack drained a corner jump shot for the magical milestone.
Mack joined her father, Kenny, who tallied 1,256 points during his playing days, still the school’s boys’ scoring mark.
Kenny Mack was a great hoopster during his scholastic days of Secaucus, earning a scholarship to Utica College and eventually St. Peter’s College (now known as St. Peter’s University).
So there it was, Lindsay accomplishing what her father did, creating a slice of history at the same time. It is believed that no father/daughter combination ever reached the 1,000-point plateau at the same school.
“It’s pretty amazing,” Kenny Mack said. “Probably there are other dads and daughters who have done it, but probably not at the same high school.”
Kenny Mack is currently a seventh grade social studies teacher at the Union Hill Middle School in Union City. He’s also been the driving force in young Lindsay’s career, teaching her and coaching her. After all, Mack was a member of the St. Peter’s Peacocks team that went to the NCAA Tournament in 1991.
Mack sat back when Lindsay was younger and tried different things.
“She was a dancer when she was younger and she played soccer, but then she signed up for basketball in second grade and her life changed,” Kenny Mack said. “She made the travel team in fourth grade. We always played sports in the house, so that helped her. But I never pushed it on her. She started to like basketball more and that began to pay off.”
Lindsay Mack said that she started to focus more on basketball because of one simple reason.
“I just liked having fun and basketball was fun for me,” Lindsay Mack said. “I just liked playing basketball better. I liked being with my friends and having a good time. My parents have always been my biggest supporters, taking me to camps, clinics and practices all over the place. But it all started in my backyard with my Dad.”
Lindsay Mack started to realize that she was getting pretty good at the game during her AAU travel days.
“I saw my shot develop and that’s when I knew,” Lindsay Mack said. “I started hearing it from other people that I was pretty good and that was good for my confidence.”
Secaucus head girls’ basketball coach John Sterling watched Mack evolve into a sensational basketball player.
“She was a year-round basketball player, so that helped,” Sterling said. “I could see how hard she worked. It’s no surprise that she’s getting better all the time. She came into high school ready to play varsity.”
Mack got the opportunity to play a lot as a freshman, but she really started to come into her own last year, when she averaged 14 points per game.
This year, as a junior, Mack has been downright explosive. Over the last six games, she’s been totally unstoppable.
She scored 25 against Ridgefield, 21 against Leonia, 20 with nine rebounds in a win over Paterson Kennedy, 26 with eight rebounds and five steals in a win over Harrison, 21 against New Milford with seven rebounds and her 1,000th career point and 17 against Bergen Charter, in a game that Mack was done after halftime.
For her efforts, Lindsay Mack is the Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
“I couldn’t find a better girl to coach,” Sterling said. “You walk into the gym and she already has a ball in her hands. She’s so level headed and focused all the time. I can yell at her and she doesn’t react. I can give her praise and I get the same thing.”
There were times this season when Mack turned an ankle and Sterling was sure that she would miss a few games.
“But she just had the trainer tie the sneakers a little tighter and she went back out there,” Sterling said. “She’s been tough enough to come back a couple of times. She has that intestinal fortitude and mental toughness.”
Sterling also credits the time that Mack has put into the game.
“I think the time she has put into playing basketball has made her an exceptional shooter,” Sterling said of Mack, who is averaging 18.1 points per game this season. “She has picture perfect form and shoots at a high percentage.”
Sterling said that Mack has already received an offer to play college basketball at Fairleigh Dickinson University and that others should be coming in shortly.
“She’s definitely playing at the next level,” Sterling said. “We’ll see what her options are. This has taken years of preparation for her to get to this point. She fits beautifully with our style of play and she’s played with good players. I think it’s a combination of that, plus all the work she’s put in.”
“She’s been lucky to have a great basketball coach,” Kenny Mack said. “She’s had good coaches along the way.”
Including Dad, who spent two years with his daughter coaching the Secaucus Recreation All-Stars.
“This is big,” said Kenny Mack, who stands 6-foot-10. “This is really big, watching her grow and develop into a great player.”
Kenny Mack’s picture is pasted on a plaque outside the gym as a member of the Secaucus Hall of Fame. Chances are that some 10 years from now, Lindsay Mack’s photo will don the wall next to her father. – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com
