By Jim Hague
When you have a name such as Mike Vick, it's hard to avoid the comments that follow along with having that name.
"I tell people that I had the name before he became famous," said Mike Vick, the Rutgers-Newark sophomore on the R-N men's basketball team, not the more famous former National Football League quarterback.
"People think that the other Mike Vick is my Dad," the Scarlet Raiders' version of Mike Vick said. "And honestly, my father's name is actually Mike Vick. So is my grandfather. I'm used to it all now."
When the other Michael Vick got into trouble in 2007 for running a dog fighting operation in his Virginia home, leading to the former Atlanta Falcons All-Pro signal caller spending nearly two years in a federal prison for his involvement in the dog fighting ring and subsequent cruelty to animals, the future Scarlet Raider do-everything was only in second grade.
So the younger Mike Vick was a little young to truly understand what was going on with his namesake.
"I had friends who kept up with football and they constantly reminded me about what the other Michael Vick had done," Vick said. "As I got older, people would always ask me if I liked dogs."
As this Mike Vick got older and played high school basketball at East Brunswick, opposing fans and crowds tried to find ways to rattle him.
"One school barked at me every time I touched the ball," Vick said. "I didn't let it get to me."
There was one reason for that, "I actually love dogs," Vick said. "As I look back on it, it's all funny now."
He also loved to play football as well, but took more of a liking to basketball as he grew older.
"I was once a pretty good football player," Vick said.
But basketball became Vick's ticket to college. He was playing for an AAU team called Battle Basketball, run by Gary Battle, the father of current Syracuse standout Tyus Battle, when he caught the eye of Rutgers-Newark head men's basketball coach Joe Loughran.
As it turned out, Loughran was busy recruiting Chase Barneys, an AAU teammate of Vick's, when Loughran first noticed Vick.
"It was the summer of what was going to be Mike's senior year at East Brunswick and I saw him at the East Brunswick summer league," Loughran said. "He was really skinny and wasn't even six feet tall then. I wasn't sure about whether he could play, but then I quickly noticed all the things that he can do."
"He was the most committed coach when it came to recruiting me," Vick said. "He was at most of my home games. That's how committed he was and showed how much they really wanted me. I got to play one game against Chase. He told me he was definitely going to Rutgers-Newark, so basically that was it. We were friends, but I was actually closer to his twin brother (Bryce, a defensive back at Monmouth University). It helped that Chase was coming to R-N."
Vick grew considerably between the time he gave Loughran a verbal commitment to attend R-N.
He was 5-foot-10 as he entered his senior year at East Brunswick and grew to 6-foot-2 by the time he enrolled at R-N.
Vick fit in nicely with the Scarlet Raiders and is received a good amount of playing time right away as a freshman.
"He's the kind of guy who does things that you don't necessarily see," Loughran said. "He's a glue guy. He does all the little things you need. He's our best defender and it doesn't matter how big the other guy is. He's a smart guy with a good basketball IQ. He's a hard working guy, a great teammate in both practices and games. He's very coachable. He's just the whole package."
Vick averaged nearly six points, three rebounds and three assists per contest coming off the bench in 21 games as a freshman. He was well on his way toward enjoying a solid four-year career with the Scarlet Raiders.
But then disaster struck.
"It started off with me losing a bunch of weight," Vick said.
That wasn't good for two reasons – one, because Vick wasn't dieting or trying to drop a few pounds and two, because Vick generally weighed 160 pounds soaking wet, so losing weight wasn't the best of scenarios.
"I didn't think much of it," Vick said. "I thought I was just losing weight."
Vick dipped to 150 pounds.
"I had the physicals and my heart rate and blood pressure were fine," Vick said.
Vick went to a thyroid specialist who saw the results of all the testing. The doctor realized that Vick was suffering from Graves' disease, a disorder to the immune system which results in the overproduction of thyroid hormones.
Vick's battle with Graves' disease cost Vick what would have been his sophomore campaign. He missed the entire year, which he has taken as a redshirt season.
"It was pretty tough sitting out, because I wanted to play really bad," Vick said. "It was the first time in my life that I didn't play, I guess since second grade when I first started playing."
"He had a chance to be a very good all-around player for us," Loughran said. "He reminds me a lot of Michael DeShields (a do-everything guard for the Scarlet Raiders whose last season was 2010). He was just starting to realize all the things he can do."
Getting sick set Vick back, but he was determined to make a full recovery and be a player of impact once again in 2018-19.
"I worked really hard to make it back," Vick said. "I was practicing all the time. I knew when I came back, I was going to compete hard and not take anything for granted."
Over the summer, Vick was in the Golden Dome every morning before 7 a.m., doing all the strength and conditioning work necessary.
"Because I was out the whole year, it took me a while to get it back," Vick said. "Conditioning is where I had to do the most catching up."
Loughran likes the way Vick has stepped up and become a leader with the team, even if he still technically has only sophomore status.
"Mike is a guy who relishes that role," Loughran said. "He's not afraid to speak up. He's well respected by his teammates. He gets the respect he deserves. He gets the toughest assignment every game (covering the best player on the opposition). He likes that role and his teammates see that and respect that. He's done a great job to get back. I think he's a good defender because of his length. He knows how to take on any responsibility and he's good with his defensive assignments."
Loughran sees how hard Vick works at improving his game offensively.
"To his credit, the shots he takes are good ones," Loughran said. "Hopefully, he will become more confident with his shot. I think that will come in time. I've become good friends with Mike's high school coach (Mark Motusesky) and he says that Mike is one of the best kids he ever coached. I think I'll have the same feeling about Mike when he graduates from us."
Vick likes playing for Loughran.
"I have a good relationship with Coach Loughran," Vick said. "I always listen to what he has to say. I try to play good defense, because I know that's what he wants. He loves it when I play good defense."
Vick is averaging 4.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 19 games thus far this season. Vick tallied a career high 13 points in games against Kean and William Paterson earlier this season.
Vick is majoring in public administration at Rutgers-Newark. He's not sure of where he wants to go with that degree. After all, he's only a sophomore.
"I still have time to make that decision," he laughs.
There are two things that make Mike Vick happy these days.
"I'm healthy again and I'm really grateful for that," Vick said. "You can never take anything for granted. Look what happened to me in the blink of an eye. I'm just happy to be back."
And the second thing? The taunts and ridicule that Vick endured, all simply because he possessed the same name as the dog tormentor, seem to be a part of ancient history. Time helps that all subside.
Now, if the Scarlet Raiders can just get a few more victories before the end of the season Then Mike Vick's life would be even better.
