Andrew Del Rey made his case, pleading to avoid getting kicked out of Waldwick’s gym.
He wasn’t done with his routine yet. He begged for a few more minutes.
It was well past 10 p.m., though, and the janitor couldn’t wait any longer. He needed to lock up so he could go home for the night. It wasn’t the first time these two had this exchange.
Del Rey’s father, Paul, shook his head and smirked in the bleachers, watching his son’s latest failed attempt to keep the lights on hours after practice ended. It was time to go home.
On Feb. 12, Del Rey became the 111th player in state history to score 2,000 career points.
The 5-foot-7 Waldwick guard is the shortest player to ever hit the mark, and in order to join a list that features legends like Kyrie Irving and Tim Thomas, he developed a work ethic that few in New Jersey can match. Del Rey is obsessive. He has a rigid routine for his own practices.
The senior has to make 10 shots in a row from whichever area on the court he feels needs the most work. Once he makes 10 straight, he shoots until he misses. When he does eventually miss, he has to hit the very next shot or else he’s obligated to make two more consecutively.
Another miss? Three in a row until he can finally move to his next spot.
This one drill can take an hour to complete.
“It’s hell sometimes,” Del Rey said.
But he insists it’s necessary. His game has to be perfect.
“You can tell from the look on Andrew’s face that he is a competitor,” first-year Waldwick coach Greg McBain said. “All he wants to do is win. That kind of fire is not taught. He learned to have that fight from a very young age.”
Andrew Del Rey (5) of Waldwick is announced during player introductions during the boys basketball game between Midland Park and Waldwick at Midland Park High School in Midland Park, NJ on 1/21/26.Scott Faytok | NJ Advance MediaHomegrown talent
Del Rey’s introduction to basketball came around the time he could walk.
But his competitive nature developed through trial by blacktop, squaring off against older cousins, four and six years his senior. There was no babying Del Rey in those backyard games.
If he wanted to win, he had to play hard and make up for the size difference. If he couldn’t find an edge, he lost. It happened over and over again. Del Rey grew to hate the feeling.
“When I was 3 years old, the stripes on the basketball stood out and spoke to me. I loved the game immediately,” Del Rey said. “It took me some time to realize that I was going to need to work as hard as I could every day to be better than everyone else.”
Del Rey’s father played basketball growing up, but gravitated toward baseball and soccer.
His son has also made a name for himself as a standout soccer player — Del Rey won a state title in 2024 — but it was clear early on that basketball was Del Rey’s true passion.
Paul embraced it, outlining a court on the family’s driveway.
“You just want your kid to be happy, right? Well, winning makes Andrew happy,” Paul said. “Working his ass off was his way of getting there.”
When gyms closed during COVID shutdowns, Del Rey was out back putting up shots. It didn’t matter if snow covered the ground. He shoveled out room to dribble, slapped on a pair of gloves to keep his hands warm and spent an hour a day shooting with his coach, Eddie Rendzio.
Del Rey was only in middle school, but he knew what he wanted.
He put up a triple-double in 6th grade and was starting to grab people’s attention around Bergen County. By the time he hit 8th grade, he was a household name in Waldwick.
Del Rey scored 46 points in one rec league game and nailed four 3-pointers in under a minute. Rendzio, the high school coach at the time, put on a full-court press to keep him at Waldwick. The veteran coach promised Del Rey he’d have a green light to shoot, and he meant it.
Del Rey earned a starting spot as a freshman and averaged 11.2 points per game.
It wasn’t until the spring after his rookie year that he developed the confidence that put Del Rey on track to join the all-time scoring list in New Jersey. His AAU coach, Atom Johnston, saw Del Rey come into form with Stack NJ/NY that year during a championship game, hitting a pair of game-changing 3-pointers in the final moments to give his team the lead, and the win.
“‘There’s the big balls.’ That’s what I yelled at him,” Johnston said. “I’ll never forget that game.”
Andrew Del Rey (5) of Waldwick stands for the national anthem before the boys basketball game between Midland Park and Waldwick at Midland Park High School in Midland Park, NJ on 1/21/26.Scott Faytok | NJ Advance Media‘If he was four or five inches taller…’
There were doubters from the moment Del Rey took the court at Waldwick.
He heard it as he stood at the foul line before scoring his first varsity points in 2022. It was quiet at Wood-Ridge. Silent until someone yelled out from the crowd, “You can’t even get on the rides at Six Flags.” Del Rey didn’t flinch. He sank the free throws.
“It just makes me smile,” Del Rey said, remembering that moment.
Del Rey transformed into the best 3-point shooter in the state as a sophomore. He hit 100 deep balls. If he stepped over halfcourt, teams had to be on alert. He had the green light to pull up from the volleyball line, and sometimes he’d pull the trigger from just over halfcourt.
He was better as a junior. Del Rey had a single-game high of 50 and averaged 25.3 points.
His connections from 3-point range dropped, but Del Rey, despite his size, became a fearless slasher, scoring at will in the paint with a quick spin move or a reliable fadeaway when up against a taller defender. No one seemed to mention his height as he torched Bergen County.
The 50-point explosion is still his career-high, but Del Rey also has two 40-point games and 13 outings where he scored 30 points or more. He’s scored 20-plus points in 32 other games.
Del Rey is averaging 20.1 points for his career.
Those numbers should be enough to attract top recruiters and college coaches. For now, Del Rey is hearing from Division III schools and weighing his options for next year.
The system is built to work against players like Del Rey. There are still doubters who point to his height as a flaw. Other naysayers have told Del Rey he’d be better off playing soccer.
“He’s heard that if he was four or five inches taller, he’d have multiple D1 offers,” Johnston said.
Del Rey ignores it. He can only control what he can control.
This winter, he’s worked on his defense and become more of a passer, setting a single-season high for assists. Senior Connor Kasperowicz sees the effort Del Rey puts in day after day to be the best he can be; even if it means staying in the gym until the janitors kick him out.
“He’s a leader by example. He’s a vocal leader, too,” said Kasperowicz, who also plays soccer with Del Rey. “Andrew is exactly what any teammate could ever want out of a captain.”
McBain, a 6-foot-10 Waldwick alum, took over the boys program in the offseason, replacing Rendzio after four years coaching the girls team. He’d seen Del Rey’s basketball evolution from afar, but now he has an in-depth look at New Jersey’s newest 2,000-point scorer.
McBain scored 1,000 points during his high school career, using his size to take over games. Recruiters flocked to Waldwick. McBain ended up at Fairleigh Dickinson for three years before transferring to Ramapo College. He knows Del Rey has what it takes to play college ball.
“I really want to see someone take a chance on Andrew,” McBain added. “I genuinely believe he can help a college program win, and that he will eventually make money playing this game.”
Family and friends celebrate Andrew Del Rey (5) of Waldwick scoring 2,000 career points during the boys basketball game against Bogota at Bogota HS in Bogota, NJ on Thursday, February 12, 2026Duncan Williams | For NJ.com2,000 and counting
Del Rey was walking off the court and headed into the hallway when they stopped him.
A group of younger kids from Waldwick had just watched another scoring barrage and wanted a minute of Del Rey’s time. They were anxious to show him their phones and the front display. Del Rey was soon staring face to face with a picture of himself from a game earlier this season.
Del Rey has turned into a superstar in town.
His father says kids ride their bikes past the house, stopping in hopes that Del Rey will come outside and put up shots with them. They’re itching to play a game in the family’s driveway.
“That’s all the motivation I need,” Del Rey said. “Seeing that kids are influenced by the work you put in is everything I need in order to keep pushing.”
That support followed Del Rey to Bogota last week. He was 13 points away from a major milestone and fans filled the away bleachers, grabbing pieces of paper with ‘2,000’ printed on them. There was also a banner there; wrapped in a cardboard casing, waiting to be unfurled.
Del Rey hit a couple of 3-pointers in the first half, unleashing moon balls from the volleyball line. Free throws helped close the gap before the shot that put him into a class of elite New Jersey scorers.
Del Rey cut through two screens and sprinted along the baseline from the right corner to the left wing with less than a minute left in the half. He caught the ball without hesitation and drove to the basket. He went up for a layup with 11.2 seconds left and was met by hard contact.
The ball rattled off the rim and kissed the backboard before falling through the net.
Del Rey emphatically pointed towards the ground, indicating that the shot counted.
In the crowd, fans flashed the 2,000 signs. His parents, Paul and Michelle, climbed out of the bleachers, with the banner in hand, and walked across the court to take pictures with their son.
McBain embraced his star player, sinking down to wrap him in a hug.
Del Rey earned this moment, and McBain put it best: “Andrew is a legend.”