Talk about your lofty aspirations and incredible goals.
When Matt Lynch was an eighth grade student in the North Arlington school district, he would step into the gymnasium at the high school and see the impressive banner with all the 1,000-point scorers in the school’s history and dream.
“Every day I saw that banner,” Lynch said. “And every single day, ever since I stepped into the school, I saw the banner and said to myself, ‘I’m going to give it my shot.’ I was determined to get up there.”
Of course, Lynch heard all the grumblings that he didn’t exactly look like a basketball player and didn’t fit the mold of the 1,000-point history makers. He wasn’t lean and lanky. He wasn’t fleet afoot. Lynch resembled someone who you would find in the library reading a book or in the audio/visual lab watching a film about some historical figure.
Lynch stands about 6-foot-1 and isn’t someone who looks like he was carved out of a block of granite or molded into a sculpture from clay.
“You look at him and he doesn’t look like a great player,” said North Arlington head basketball coach Marcello D’Andrea.
Lynch has never let the chatter and noise get to him.
“I ignore it all,” Lynch said. “I never pay attention to what other people say. To be successful in basketball, you need to be more than athletic. I always think that the smarter player, the more intelligent player will win out over the other player.”
And there isn’t a person alive who is going to question Lynch’s intelligence quotient, also known in layman’s terms as an IQ. Or to break it down into simpler terms, no one would have the you-know-whats to question Lynch’s mental approach to life.
Lynch is smarter than the average bear. His 104 average in the classroom is proof. And that’s not a temperature reading on a thermometer, checking for fever when Lynch is battling the flu – which everyone seems to be tackling this time of year. No, that’s his average score out of a perfect grade of 100 that Lynch receives in all of his classes. He also scored 1280 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test, so he’s scored well enough to set himself for the next stage of his life.
But believe it or not, Lynch has scored a lot of points on the basketball hardwood as well. And recently, in unfortunately an overtime loss to Cliffside Park, Lynch became the latest member of the 1,000-point club.
Lynch needed 15 points to etch his name onto the prestigious banner. He got 17.
And for his efforts, Lynch has been selected as The Observer Athlete of the Week for the last week.
His buddy and former backcourt mate Nick DeGrace joined the 1,000-point club last year, becoming the first Viking player to reach the prestigious mark since 2012 when former Observer Male Athlete of the Year Tyler Krychkowski put his name on the hanging banner.
Now, there have been two more added to the list in the last two years – the former backcourt buddies both reaching the impressive milestone. DeGrace finished with 1,028 points.
“He’s my friend and all,” Lynch said. “But I’d love to top him.”
Lynch was still somewhat amazed at the fact that he reached the milestone.
“It’s just an honor,” Lynch said. “It’s still a little shocking. Not everyone gets a chance to do it. I look up at that list on the wall and it’s an honor for me to be there with the rest of them. It makes me feel good about myself.”
D’Andrea tried to best describe the kind of player Lynch is.
“He’s a lunch-pail kind of guy,” D’Andrea said. “He doesn’t do a lot of things to get his points. He will hit a jump shot when it’s needed. He’s progressed a little every year and has turned into a solid player for us. He plays hard all the time. He goes out there and you’ll get the most out of him. Even though we’re not doing well, he hates to lose. He just goes out there and grinds.”
D’Andrea was asked to describe Lynch’s game.
“It’s funny,” D’Andrea said. “If you look for one quality, it’s not there. But the results are. He boxes out and gets rebounds against guys bigger. He dives on the floor for loose balls. He’s doing all the little things to make himself successful. I think he knows that and puts himself in a position to succeed. He’s not going to jump over you. He’s not as athletic as everyone else. But he gets his points. For Matt to grind it out and get 1,000 points speaks leaps and bounds about what kind of a kid he is. He did more with less than a lot of others.
Added D’Andrea, “He’s been the catalyst this year. Matt’s toughest critic has always been himself. He’s been hard on himself. But he comes every day with intensity. He doesn’t have the 40-point games, just 16 or 17. That’s him, pretty consistent.”
D’Andrea also likes Lynch’s approach.
“Anytime you get a kid like him, you appreciate it,” D’Andrea said. “He’s always, ‘Yes, Coach,’ or ‘No, Coach.’ Just so respectful. I appreciate that.”
Lynch likes the fact that he’s appreciated.
“I want to be known as the guy who played hard, down to the last possession,” Lynch said. “I’m always focused on trying to get the win. I don’t care about points. I played this game (Saturday) like it was any other game. I wasn’t worried about getting 1,000 this game. I just wanted the win and I was focused on that.”
The win wasn’t there, the milestone was.
Now, Lynch can finish out his high school days with perhaps another win or two – and a couple of places on the all-time scoring list.
CAPTION
North Arlington senior Matt Lynch, who became the newest member of the school’s 1,000-point club, is The Observer Athlete of the Week for the last week. Photo courtesy of North Arlington athletics.
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”