John McDermott doesn’t mince words when talking about basketball and avoiding bad decisions on substance abuse in life.
So it would be no surprise that his two principal topics would be woven into his first book, “Legend in His Own Mind.”
McDermott reflects on his experiences as a student and basketball star at Raritan High School, where he still feels he is the No. 1 single-season scorer despite seeing that mark eclipsed this season by Mike Aaman. He also recalls his two prolific years spent at Brookdale Community College before embarking on a career at NAIA program Bloomfield College, where he made the first of his costly mistakes. In a tell-all book self-published by Xlibris for sale online at Xlibris.com as well as on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com for $19.95, McDermott talks about his long fight and eventual victory over his personal demons — drug and alcohol addiction. It’s also for sale for $17 at Sungate Deli near Walloo Park in Fort Monmouth, where he holds a high school summer basketball league that keeps teenagers off the streets on Friday and Saturday nights, the prime time for trouble.
He’ll have a book signing at the Middletown public library on June 9 from 3 to 4 p.m.
Despite the self-patronizing title, this is not about McDermott making money or nourishing his ego, he said.
“Hopefully, it’ll save lives,” McDermott said of the candid passages of how he straightened out his life — being clean of addictive painkillers since Oct. 4, 2010, when he began a rehabilitation program.
“It’s about addiction and recovery, which will help a lot of people,” McDermott said of the 150-page testimonial. “It’s a quick, easy read with a good ending.”
McDermott not only wants to help those who have addictions, he hopes his book will keep someone from starting drug use in the first place.
He has another book in the works on the lighter side, called “Dream Season.” This one is intended to be about basketball junkies — McDermott’s playing experiences at Raritan in the 1973-74 season when he said his demanding commitment to working on his basketball game in the offseason led to his scoring 505 points. He said the book will recapture his relationships with New Jersey basketball legends who had an impact on his life, like the Hurley family and Jackie Gilloon, a former flashy point guard at Memorial High in West New York, among others.
Although current star Aaman dropped in 550 points and got a heartfelt congratulations and well wishes from McDermott for his upcoming college career at the University of Rhode Island, where he’ll be coached by Dan Hurley with brother Bobby as his assistant, the author said he also looks at things like the greater number of games Aaman played this season with a 21.9 ppg. scoring average that was short of his 24.1 average when he played. There also is the three-point circle that was introduced after McDermott played.
McDermott also set the school record of 41 points twice in his senior season before Brian Guiney set the current mark of 42 points during the 1993-94 season. Aaman also scored 41 points this season in a game against Red Bank Regional.
“You beat the record by having the better average or outscoring someone in the same number of games,” McDermott said. Instead, he himself puts an asterisk next to the current record.
As for his currently published book, it recounts how surgery for a meniscus tear that had sidelined him as a referee led to his doctor prescribing painkillers. His knee also was painfully arthritic from Lyme disease.
If you’re hooked on these drugs, they can kill you, McDermott said.
“There’s no turning back unless you’re in a serious recovery program,” he said.
McDermott followed professional medical recommendations to use a medication designed to wean someone off narcotic painkillers, and he said he has not turned back to them since he started the rehab program. It was a daunting challenge for McDermott, who said he has had serious bouts of depression.
But that wasn’t his only demon. McDermott said that after his star-studded career in high school and a fine stint at Brookdale, where he averaged 18 and 20 points a game in his two seasons, he began to drink beer and alcohol when he went to Bloomfield. He never had a chance to make his mark there in basketball. When the campus police nabbed him for drinking and he made some snide responses, he was expelled. It opened his eyes to that problem.
“People are saying it’s a must-read book because it’s true, it’s blood and guts,” Mc- Dermott said. “I’ve gotten tremendous feedback.
People are saying they can’t put it down because it’s an easy read. People have been saying, ‘He let it all out.’ ‘He’s holding nothing back.’ There’s basketball in it, but it’s about addiction and how I recovered.”
Now he’s looking to impart that message in his upcoming basketball league that has involved players from Raritan, Mater Dei and Keansburg as well as student-athletes on school teams outside of the area. Signups will take place May 5 and 12 at Sunrise Deli.
Each player pays $100 for a 10-game guarantee in the well-organized league that has carded officials and official timekeepers and official scorekeepers. It will run from the second week of June through the second week of August.
The league will go back to the name Mac’s Fun Ball, the original name when it started in 2001. McDermott last year changed the name for one season to Crazy Johnny’s Memorial League in tribute to his longtime friend, Johnny McGowan.
McDermott said the league has carried his message to keep away from vices, a message that he said he also is happy to have carried out in his book.