Small-town Bergen County basketball star eclipses 2,000 career points
Greg Mattura
BOGOTA – Andrew Del Rey scored his 2,000th career point like he has so many other points in his four years at Waldwick.
The 5-foot-7 senior guard came off a screen, caught a pass, drove, was fouled, and turned it into a three-point play.
Del Rey became the 15th boys’ basketball player in Bergen County history to reach 2,000 career points during the first half of a 66-51 victory over Bogota on Feb. 12.
“It’s something that shows that the hard work does pay off,” Del Rey said. “And it’s a personal achievement that I’m pretty proud of.”
Del Rey is the 20th boy from the Bergen/Passaic area to reach 2,000, and that list (see below) includes former NBA players Bill Willoughby and Tim Thomas, now the coach at Paramus Catholic.
Del Rey’s basket came with 11.2 seconds left in the first half and gave him 2,001 points. He came off a screen on the left wing and caught a pass from sophomore guard Jacob Sticco. He drove right, was fouled, and released the shot just outside the lane. It hit the rim, caromed off the backboard, and fell through the net.
“Once the ball was in my hands, and I saw the guy on me, I got by him and felt the contact, and I was going up,” said Del Rey, who scored 15 in the first half and finished with 22 to raise his total to 2,009. “And then two more guys came, plus more contact, and I got the foul call and the ball went in.”
When Del Rey scored, referees stopped the game. He was congratulated by his teammates and coach Greg McBain. He posed for a photo with his family, including parents Paul and Michelle, who have attended almost every one of his Waldwick games and brought along a 2,000-point banner.
“He sets goals that are beyond what I would think are even possible,” Paul Del Rey said. “He’s brought us along on his journey. I didn’t think it was possible at the beginning of high school, but as it went along, for sure.”
“I’m just very, very proud of him, and now I’m going to cry,” Michelle Del Rey said of the oldest of their three sons. “He works harder than anyone I know. He works so hard, and he deserves every second of recognition for this.”
Del Rey may be the biggest overachiever of the 20 North Jersey boys to reach this milestone. He has developed a quick-release shot that extends beyond NBA 3-point range. He can shoot with both hands around the basket. He shoots better than 80 percent from the foul line, and he was 5-for-5 against Bogota.
“Everything you see him do on the court, he works at,” said McBain, a 2000 Waldwick graduate who scored 1,003 career points. “For instance, we end practice at 7 o’clock, and he’s in the gym until 8:30, until the janitors kick him out. I say, ‘Del. I have to leave,’ and he says, ‘I’m staying coach.’ Everything he does, he works on his craft.”
“It’s the result of all the work that I’ve put in – and the janitor kicking me out,” Del Rey said. “Those late nights in the gym, they really pay off.”
Waldwick principal Kevin Carroll was among the administrators to watch Del Rey become the school’s first 2,000-point scorer.
“He represents Waldwick High School with pride, sportsmanship, he’s a student-athlete, he’s a multi-sport athlete,” Carroll said. “He does it the right way.”
Del Rey and Waldwick have done it the right way. The Warriors are 16-7, qualified for the Bergen County Jamboree, and can make some noise in the Group 1 state tournament, which starts in two weeks.
“We’re playing a little more together, and that shows on our record,” Del Rey said. “We’re winning more games, the season’s looking good, and we have some momentum heading into the state tournament. I trust all my guys to make the right play when I give them the ball, as they trust me to make the right play when I have the ball.”
Del Rey has made enough plays in four seasons to reach the 2,000-point Club.
