Daily News | ‘North Philly tough’: St. Peter’s freshman Clarence Rupert sets the tone for the Cinderella Peacocks
The eight-inch height disadvantage Clarence Rupert faced Friday night became even greater in the game’s opening possession when Purdue’s towering 7-foot-4 center lifted the ball into the air. Rupert, a 6-foot-8 freshman from St. Peter’s, suddenly looked tiny.
“We call that North Philly tough. That’s what it’s called. North Philly tough,” said Philly Pride AAU director Kamal Yard, the program Rupert played for when he returned home in the summer. “He’s out there, a little undersized against bigger guys and he’s fighting tooth and nail. He’s a fighter. He’s North Philly tough.”
The Peacocks have won 10 in a row and Rupert has established himself as a freshman in the starting five. The decision worked out, his uncle said. Rupert’s 11 points on Friday included his second three-pointer of the season, which he celebrated by looking into the stands and pointing to his mom. Rupert returned each summer to North Philadelphia where he would stay with Morton, eat Dalessandro’s cheesesteaks, and play for Yard’s AAU squad. Morton told his nephew about how Aaron McKie came from the same neighborhood and showed him videos of Moses Malone and Hakeem Olajuwon, providing Rupert with a basketball education.
Morton works for SEPTA as a cashier at the Allegheny station on the Broad Street Line, telling everyone about his nephew at St. Peter’s. His job, Morton said, was to make sure Rupert reached college. And now he isn’t afraid to brag.
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