"...and with steady stride
he ran across the beloved land..."
My Friend...My Hero...
By Wallace Williams
Continued...
He has become a basketball institution, a work in progress that continues to defy the odds he faced from childhood days on. In those days as a youth, indeed there were two basketball worlds: one for whites and one for blacks, Clem became the best in both. The fact is, he embraced the racial elements to the extent that his mentor was a white farm boy, the person who introduced him to the game.
The title All-America is not easy to come by; it is one he achieved in high school and three times at major college level. He has been successful coaching at almost every level. His wins as coach of the USA team for the Goodwill Games improved the then USA all-time Goodwill Games record to 19-6 (.760), while his record as a head or assistant coach with USA Basketball has improved to 24-1 (.960) with four gold medals in as many competitions. As head coach of the 1994 USA Basketball Men's Junior World Championship Qualifying Team, Clem coached his squad to an 8-0 record and the gold medal; as head coach of the 1991 U.S. Olympic Festival North Team, his team earned a gold medal with its 4-0 mark; and as an assistant on the 1996 USA Olympic Team, Clem saw that team win the gold medal with an 8-0 mark.
He was the number one player drafted by the Chicago Bulls and a nine-year pro in the NBA. All accounts of this and more of his achievements are documented in Breaking Barriers. This reviewer knows first-hand of those accounts and achievements, as he has known Clem as a child-hood friend and hero. He has seen how the greatness that he attained in the world of basketball has inspired many young people, himself included. One recalls as a young boy on Louisville playgrounds when players picked this reviewer often because of rumors that he grew up with and played with Clem down in Campbellsville and therefore had to have a game. Such was and is the long tradition of respect of peer-group athletes. Back in 1963 Clem was probably the best player to come out of high school in the state. He helped lead the way to stardom for many more young players in college and the pros. Clem has always had a serious, no non-sense and hard working approach to the game he picked up as a farm boy. He earned the benefits of his success the hard way.
Breaking Barriers is great resource material for young basketball players who need to connect with the true ethic of the sport; learn of the fibers which make up the game and its history. One recalls the time he made a special visit to west side community of North Lawndale in Chicago. This reviewer was Branch Librarian at the Frederick Douglass Branch of the Chicago Public Library at the time and asked him to visit. He and basketball Legend, Connie Hawkins were playing with Phoenix Suns in the NBA and took time out to come to a neighborhood with extreme challenges for black people living there at the time. These two pro stars addressed a group of guys who were in a special alternative high school education program housed at the library and always in need of good male role models to help them along the way.
Basketball is a young sport. Many of its pioneers and heroes are still with us. Clem is one of those pioneers, one of those heroes. He has a tremendously comprehensive understanding of the game at all levels, its setting and place in society, how it is to be played. His ability to develop players with so called "marginal skills", into champions is one of his main strengths. Parents/parent would do well to read this book as it provides Clem's formula for success, "the old fashion way". This is not to say that he is not adaptable; he molds young men into responsible adults and productive citizens. The high school athlete faced with the decision of selecting a college to attend as a student/athlete will find this book to be quite valuable.
Breaking Barriers: the story of Clem Haskins illustrates how the game basketball as an institution impacts a local rural society beset with traditional and long-standing racial divides, is overcome by one person over a period which will claim its significance in history. How a local boy within the confines of that institution, went on to impact the world. So much can be learned from the perspective that Clem has on the sport, players and the world that is basketball. How he stamps his label on a player and a team is truly significant, its awe inspiring. This reviewer ventured to San Juan, Puerto Rico in November of 96' to see Clem's Gophers of Univ. of Minnesota play in the San Juan Shootout. Many years had passed since I had seen Clem in action and never as a coach except on television. The Gophers were the class of the tournament. I recall saying to him after the game how special his group looked compared to the other teams which were top level Division I NCAA teams as well; how his guys "went after it" in a manner like I had never seen. This group was unique as it proved later by going to the final four.
Note: I was born in Campbellsville Kentucky (Taylor County) and remember being inspired by Clem when we were in high school. He was great basketball player. I also remember that he was the first person I ever saw run a distance longer than a mile and on the road; he accomplished this on the day of hot "May Day" school celebration and in Converse All Star basketball shoes. I credit him for my being able to have a college basketball career and being able to run the marathon in my later years as an Olympian for the Virgin Islands. Many thanks for all the memories and all the game tickets during your NBA career.
My dream in 1997 was that Clem would reach the final game of the NCAA and Timmy Duncan would also reach the final game with his Wake Forest team. I have known Clem from when he was a youth and I have known Timmy from when he was a youth. So, when they were selected as Coach of the Year and Player of the Year and received their awards together, I realized the uniqueness of our relationships. I am very proud to know them.
ww
Breaking Barriers by Clem Haskins with Marc Ryan may be purchased at: http//www.amazon.com
I run. My
race of all races is the Seoul Olympics Marathon 1988. I can still feel
each mile as if it were yesterday. There is no feeling like running the
final lap in Olympic stadium and crossing the finish line at the end of
the Olympic marathon!
I Read... By profession I am a Librarian. A hurricane Hugo survivor, all
13 hours of it, each in the library!
I remember... An athlete for most of my life, my accomplishments are
modest compared to those of some of my friends. There are so many
memories. Basketball.
"I love this game". My special attachment to it
lives on.
For more visit
http://www.virginislandspace.org
Thanks for letting me share.
ww