Career over, but Damon Lynn's legacy will last at NJIT

One of the great success stories in the history of New Jersey college basketball has come to a premature end, although its legacy will continue.

NJIT senior Damon Lynn, who defied the odds and rose from unrecruited to virtually unstoppable as a mid-major guard, lifting the Highlanders from obscurity in the process, has undergone surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon.

“He was a once-in-a-generation player,” NJIT coach Brian Kennedy told Gannett New Jersey Monday night in a text-message exchange. “He’s been the face of the athletic department the last four years and was a huge part of us getting into the Atlantic Sun conference. His competitive will to succeed on the ultimate stage was a joy to watch, and his scoring accolades second to none.”

The Union Catholic High School grad scored 2,153 collegiate points, smashing the program record. He made 434 3-pointers, which ends up fifth in NCAA history behind Oakland’s Travis Bader (504), Duke’s J.J. Redick (457), Chicago State’s David Holston (450) and Saint Peter’s Keydren Clark (435).

This season, Lynn was averaging 20.6 points and 3.5 assists while shooting 87 percent from the free-throw line and 35 percent from deep.

His Achilles gave way Jan. 21 against Florida Gulf Coast. NJIT (9-15) has lost four straight without him.

“When I heard the news that Damon had gotten hurt I felt awful for him,” said Jim Engles, who coached him at NJIT for three years before moving to Columbia this season. “He deserved to finish his career with that ‘one shining moment’ storybook ending. His drive, competitiveness, and leadership were unbelievable examples for all of us to see every day we were around him.”

When Engles and then-assistant Kennedy discovered Lynn at Union Catholic, NJIT was a nomadic program just a few years removed from a winless season. To their credit, they recognized his gifts early and built around him soon after his arrival.

As a result, the Highlanders posted back-to-back 20-win seasons and appearances in the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. They earned a place in a conference and, with a win at Michigan (Lynn scored 20), captured the attention of the nation. He became an Associated Press honorable mention All-American.

“All of that, and he was a humble kid who never asked for anything and was an honor roll student in the classroom,” Kennedy said. “It was an honor to have coached him.”

In 2015 NJIT broke ground on a $100 million, 3,500-seat multipurpose arena that is due to open sometime within the next year. There is no doubt that Lynn’s No. 5 will hang in those rafters.

“He may be too young to realize this right now, but the legacy that he has left at NJIT will be talked about for years to come,” Engles said. “I am 100 percent convinced he will take his degree from NJIT in the spring and move on to a new story that will be just as incredible as the one he wrote over the last four years.”

Contributing: Josh Newman.

Staff writer Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com