A Hero at Home

WHEN DEBATING THE best high school basketball players to ever play in New Jersey, the name Kelly Tripucka has to be in the conversation. A versatile athlete, Tripucka scored more than 2,000 points in just three years at Bloomfield High School in Essex County. He then became a four-year starter and All-American at Notre Dame, and he averaged 17 points per game over 10 years in the NBA.

While he played in a different era, the indicators of his success—hard work, tenacity, confidence, and court smarts—are timeless.

Born and raised in Bloomfield, Tripucka grew up at the tail end of the golden age of suburbia where he was part of a generation who enjoyed much freedom and independence as kids. “There was never any pressure,” he remembers. “The rules were simple: ‘Just make sure you’re home for dinner and stay out of trouble.’”

There are many fond memories of his youth, where going outside, riding bikes, and playing with neighborhood kids was the norm. “I had a wonderful childhood,” he says. “We were very, very fortunate to grow up in that time. It was a great place and a great town.”

As the second youngest in a family of seven children, Tripucka often looked up to his older siblings, but he also learned hard lessons from them because it was difficult to compete with four older brothers. However, that struggle helped him develop toughness and resilience.

With very athletic siblings and a former NFL quarterback for a father, Tripucka recalls how there was a lot of competition in his youth, but none of it was forced. His father, Frank, whose number 18 is retired in the Denver Broncos ring of honor, never pushed for his sons to follow in his footsteps.

“My father didn’t pressure us to be athletes,” the younger Tripucka recalls. “Sports just came by itself.”

A FUTURE CALLING

By high school, Kelly Tripucka was an accomplished three-sport athlete. He won a state title in soccer where he was a defender on a team that only gave up four goals the entire season. On the track team, he set a then-school record for high jump at 6’ 7”, and he won a state championship throwing the javelin.

“I played other sports, because that’s what you did,” he says, “but basketball was my path.” On the hardwood, Tripucka was a beast, scoring 1,045 points in his senior season and winning a state sectional championship. For his career, Tripucka tallied 2,278 points, which he did without a three-point line, and over the course of just three seasons since grade nine was part of the middle school.

With offers to play collegiate basketball pouring in, Tripucka’s short list included Duke, South Carolina, and Maryland, but he chose to play at Notre Dame, his father’s alma mater.

Even though he grew up in a Fighting Irish football family, the decision had nothing to do with his father playing there. “Notre Dame at that time was just right for me,” Tripucka admits. “They were up and coming, they were independent, and they played all over the country.”

Even better, he saw a chance to get on the court early. “I had an opportunity to play.”

And play he did, making his way into the starting lineup early in his freshman season on a team that made the school’s only Final Four appearance. In Tripucka’s four years, the Irish reached the NCAA Tournament every year, and this was prior to the expansion to a 64-school field.

Leading the team in scoring for three of his years at Notre Dame, he twice earned a spot on the consensus All-American second team. In his final two seasons in South Bend, Tripucka averaged 18 points per game, and in 2020, he was awarded the ultimate Notre Dame distinction when they hung a banner for him in the Purcell Pavilion Ring of Honor.

“It was a great experience,” he says. “I chose wisely.”

TO THE BIG LEAGUES

Tripucka continued his success in the NBA. As the 12th overall draft pick, by the Detroit Pistons, in 1981, he averaged 21.6 points per game over five years in the Motor City.

He finished second in the Rookie of the Year vote, and he made the All-Star team twice. He led the league in minutes played in the 1982-83 season, showing incredible toughness and durability to go along with his great playing abilities.

In looking back at his career, the Bloomfield native acknowledges how the foundation of his success was forged through the experiences of his childhood. Independence. Grit. Resilience. And confidence.

“I was never afraid,” Tripucka says of his time on the court. “I don’t back down from anybody. That’s part of who I am. You’re going to get my best every time.”

After a successful decade-long career in the NBA, Tripucka became a broadcaster for the

sport for almost 30 years. In 1992, he and his wife, Janice, a native of North Caldwell, settled in Boonton Township.

They liked the area, citing its good schools, central location, and strong sense of community. Being Essex County natives, they also wanted more property.

The Tripuckas raised three children, all of whom went to Mountain Lakes High School and excelled in sports, particularly lacrosse. Like their father and grandfather, the kids played multiple sports under coaching legends.

Tripucka appreciates how fortunate both of his sons were to play for local icons in football

coach, Doug Wilkins, and lacrosse coach, Tim Flynn. “They were two unbelievable coaches, long-time successful, nose-in-the-dirt kind of guys.”

With two generations of professional athletes in their pedigree as well as guidance from coaching legends at MLHS, it is no wonder that the Tripucka boys went on to play college sports. And like his father did with him, Tripucka allowed his kids to make their own choices, which resulted not only in successful sports careers for all three, but also memorable journeys with their teammates, something that the elder Tripucka still holds dear to his own heart.

As a retired empty nester, Tripucka now splits his time between Boonton Township and Boynton Beach, Florida. When he is in Morris County, he enjoys seeing friends and playing golf at Rockaway River Country Club.

When looking back on his time in Boonton Township, he recognizes the similarities to his own youth. He appreciates the sense of community and the willingness to prioritize what is best for the kids. “We’re in this together, and we want to see our kids do better than we did,” he says.

Doing better than Kelly Tripucka is a very high bar, but with the help of him and the communities of Boonton Township and Mountain Lakes, it is certainly a bar that can and will be raised.

BY RICH LUTTENBERGER