NUTLEY, N.J. (WCBS 880) — The Cinderella story of this year's NCAA tournament is clearly St. Peter's University.
The Jersey City school has pulled off two major upsets and hopes to pull off a third Friday as St. Peter's plays Purdue in Philadelphia.
With his big hair and scruffy mustache, Doug Edert might be the team's best known-player.
His father, Bill, explains that the famous mustache started out as a full beard during a COVID break.
"During the pandemic and COVID, the kids were not allowed to go out, understandably, so he couldn't come home to Nutley to get his haircut that he usually gets and people are meticulous of who cuts their hair," he told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell on Friday from his home in Nutley.
"So he was growing his hair, he had a beard, he had everything going, he was looking a little like 'Wolverine,'" Bill Edert said. "So Matt Lee [his point guard] cuts hair on the side, and Daryl Banks, also his roommate, they decided to cut his hair."
The task turned out to be no easy feat.
"[It] was an ordeal. They said it takes about 2 hours, which is crazy. I think it was Daryl who said, 'You know what? I think you would look good with a mustache," Bill Edert said. "He left the mustache, it was a joke, and like any athlete, he hit a couple of shots, they won, hit a couple more shots, they won."
The rest is history and now that mustache has become a part of Edert's persona.
Doug Edert started playing basketball on a hoop in front of his home and now he may be the face not just of his team, but of the entire tournament.
"People probably are looking at this kid, looking at his passion, looking at his quirkiness, he's got crazy hair going, he's sporting a crazy mustache, and we're a little tiny Jesuit school and here is this kid taking big shots against Kentucky, which he has no right to do, and knocking them down and we advance on and he's showing his passion and his love for the game," said Bill Edert, comparing his son to a TV character. "He looks a little like Ted Lasso. 'Ted Lasso' the series was great, quirky guy, quirky mustache and he said, 'Just believe.'"
He said his son has a great work ethic and loves to compete.
"He will never shy away from a big shot, he understands the consequences that come with the big shot," his father said, adding that he's also got some pre-game rituals. "He's quirky, he'll drink some caffeine before a game, he has a little ritual, he barks a little, growls a little, does a little weird things, but at the end of the day he's very passionate when he crosses those white lines to play."
Doug Edert started at Bergen Catholic and just signed a deal with Buffalo Wild Wings.
Bill Edert has three boys.
His oldest son, Nicholas, is a Newark police officer who was shot and wounded in the line of duty in December.
"So it's a tale of, I guess you could say, two shots," he said. "I have one kid that's getting shot, and I have another kid that's literally making shots and it's been a surreal couple of months."
Bill Edert is proud of his boys.
"Being a parent and seeing your son accomplish what he wanted to accomplish in life is fantastic," he said.
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