How Knicks star Julius Randle has delivered for one Bronx high school

Julius Randle’s status for Game 1 of the Knicks-Cavs series is unknown. He’s been on the court with his teammates during practice this week, but hasn’t been cleared for contact.

He should be back at some point during the first round. When he returns, there will be questions about his injured left ankle – and there will be questions about his production.

Will Randle look like the player who struggled in a first-round loss to the Atlanta Hawks two years ago? Or will he deliver for a Knick franchise that has just one playoff series win in the last 20 years?

That question will be answered at some point over the next two weeks.

But if you ask anyone at 1617 Parkview Ave. in the Bronx, Randle’s already delivered.

His fundraising program has generated $880,000 for the Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball School on Parkview Avenue, which helped establish a key literacy program at the Bronx high school, they said.

“He’s changed lives,” one Earl Monroe teacher said.

Shaun Merrique agrees. Merrique directs the literary enhancement courses funded by Randle’s program.

Merrique said that when the school opened its doors in 2021, more than half of the ninth grade students were reading at a fourth-grade level.

“These kids had been underserved, in terms of education, all of their lives,” Merrique said. “And then there’s COVID, which exacerbated it.”

The educators knew the students needed additional support. So they hired three educators to start a supplementary literacy program. It wasn’t in the original budget.

“It’s thanks to (Randle’s) program,” Merrique said. “That’s how we funded it.”

The program made an immediate impact: By the end of the school year, 70 percent of the students reached a seventh grade reading level, at minimum.

“It’s provided that much-needed resource to help them get back to where they needed to be,” school president Dr. Kern Mojica said.

The Earl Monroe New Renaissance Basketball school has a unique curriculum. In addition to the required New York State core curriculum, eligible students take classes in facets of basketball off the court. Students can take classes in broadcast journalism, analytics, nutrition, business, design, in-arena entertainment, physical therapy, and other off-court professions.

Obviously, literacy is fundamental to success in any of those fields.

And Mojica said Randle’s funds allowed him to hire the staff needed for the literacy program. Since its inception, the staff has grown from three to eight teachers. There are plans to hire an additional three educators.

“Hiring teachers has been challenging,” Mojica said. “(Randle’s program) has given us the resources.”

Randle started the program early in the 2021-22 season. He pledged $500 for each three-pointer he made that season. Randle’s contributions were matched by a wide array of local donors, including the Knicks, JP Morgan, and the National Basketball Players Association.

It also inspired Ayden Khalid, a 17-year-old student at the Dalton School. Khalid organized his own fundraiser based on how many three-pointers he made during the high school season. It raised $12,090.

“Growing up playing AAU basketball, seeing some of my teammates and friends not have the same educational resources that I had, I decided I wanted to do help,” Khalid said. “I thought I’d just follow (Randle’s) lead.”

As you know, Randle struggled with his shot for most of the 2021-22 season. He couldn’t reach the All-NBA level he’d established the season before. Some Knicks fans were frustrated. Based on a small sampling on social media, a sizeable number of fans wanted New York to trade Randle. They thought he was a bad fit for a young roster.

But the students at Earl Monroe New Renaissance never wavered in their support of him. Randle’s made threes last season helped them immeasurably. This season, he’s bounced back. He’s an All-Star again and the Knicks are returning to the playoffs. To the kids at the school on Parkview Avenue in the Bronx, he’s already given plenty.