“Do It All” Paul Mulcahy was sensational his sophomore year. While many expected Gil St. Bernards to drop off the map due to the losses of 2016 NJ Freshmen of the year Jake Betlow to Montverde (and now St. Benedict's Prep,) and Adam Mitola to George Washington, Gil took steps forward in 2017. One of the major reasons Gil was able to take such large steps forward despite the loss of so many key pieces was due to the stellar play of Mulcahy.
Paul may not be the biggest, fastest or strongest, but he has one of the best foundations in the NJ. Paul has an extremely high basketball IQ and keeps teams honest by using all players and sections of the floor each game.
It's only right that we paid homage by selecting Mulcahy as a diarist for us this year. Check back throughout the season as Paul gives us an insider look at the life of a star student athlete playing basketball on the highest level in New Jersey.
As told to Christian Mordi / @thedribbledrop on Instagram and Twitter
Hey guys,
Looking back on the year, we had a pretty cool out of conference schedule. We played Montverde, Imhotep, Roselle Catholic… but the one that meant the most for me to win, and we did, was against Newark East Side. We came off the Monteverde game and I felt like people thought we were a bit overrated. The day after the Montverde game we had to play East Side. We were pretty tired, but we came out and played great. The atmosphere was great. They have a great fan base and I love the guys on their team. It was a big game for us.
We played Rutgers Prep for the third time in the County Championship. It’s pretty hard to beat teams that many times, as most coaches have their teams well prepared and the players are comfortable with each other and what shots certain players may take. We may have been the #1 seed but we had a pretty short rotation. In some ways we were the underdog in a sense.
Winning the game meant a lot to us. It was our 4th county championship in a row. For our seniors they walked away with the hardware every year, which is great. It was a tough game, probably the most competitive one we had in the county, but it was fun.
So we started the States. In the first two rounds we beat Marist and Dwight Inglewood. Our next game was a pretty big one as we played St. Mary’s Elizabeth. That was a pretty fun game. Both schools were well represented as we both had a lot of fans come out. We came into that game well prepared and focused. St. Mary’s is one of those teams that if you don’t come out and play your game, they will beat you. It was a great win for us. I was happy to win that one on our home floor in front of family and friends.
We played in the Final at The Rac. Roselle was a truly hard matchup for anyone. The combination of Nas and Alanzo makes them a very tough cover. It was a close game until the end. With six minutes left in the 4th quarter, we were down 5 points. They made a timely run and were able to extend the lead to a margin we couldn’t overcome.
The end of the year rankings came out and they had us at #4 to end the season. I think that was a bit off, but it is what it is. I felt like whoever came out of our bracket was going to win it all, and Roselle did just that.
Right now I’m focused on the spring. This year I will be playing on the 17u team for New Heights. Shoutouts to my teammates Lester and Precious. This year I will playing point guard full time, which allows me to grow into my natural position on the next level more. It’s a great program and I’m excited to begin my venture with them. They have an organization and the team looks solid. I think if we all play up to our potential we could be one of the top 5 AAU teams in the nation.
On another note, I had a blast doing the diary this year and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I did doing it. The love our program and the HeadBandHighlights movement has got has been amazing. I’ve had kids walk up to me randomly and talk about it, which is dope.
Til Next Time,
Paul