Destroying "anything that comes in her way," Camree Clegg a beast for Wayne basketball 2018-01-06 06:44:54来源：hometownlife分类：国际阅读(1) Destroying Camree Clegg is all smiles about getting a full-ride scholarship to play women's basketball at Clemson University. Although Camree Clegg is only 5-foot-5, the Wayne Memorial senior point guard already is a Big-Time Talent who inspires a nickname befitting Marvel Comics. Who else could own and completely justify the wild nickname Zebras’ coach Jarvis Mitchell slapped on her — “The Beast That Swallowed Tokyo.” And Clegg could enjoy some big success the rest of her high school career, including potentially being named Miss Basketball and helping lead her team to a long postseason run, before taking her hoop skills and 4.5 grade-point average to Division I Clemson University. Dare we say a major force of nature is headed to South Carolina? Clegg recently signed her national letter of intent to play at Clemson, in the top-drawer Atlantic Coast Conference. “Man, one day we were all in the gym,” said the 17-year-old Clegg, recalling when her nickname was coined. “And he (Mitchell) said ‘Yo, the beast that swallowed Tokyo!’ I’m like, where did you come up with that?’ It’s just kind of stuck since then. “In my opinion it kind of comes from the Godzilla type of thing. He thinks I’m really small, but I have a really big heart and play bigger than what I am. I think it fits.” Destroying "Miss Basketball" contender Camree Clegg is one of the smaller players on the team, but you would never know it by watching her performance on the basketball court. Odds in her favor A couple years later, the high-energy, likeable Mitchell isn’t taking it back, either. “Everyone knows Godzilla’s thing was he destroyed everything that came in his way,” explained Mitchell, adding with a laugh that “so you look at her body, not a beast at all. “... We have fun with it, but honestly she destroys anything that comes in her way. I’ve coached her over 200 games, and I can probably think of once or twice that the other point guard got the best of her. Other than that, I feel that’s a matchup I’m going to win 99.999 percent of the time.” That could mean plenty of trouble for other Kensington Lakes Activities Association teams during 2017-18, not to mention opponents the Zebras hope to meet — and vanquish — in the state playoffs. For Mitchell, Clegg, junior standout Jeanae Terry and the rest of the team, there remains unfinished business from last winter. A season ago, when Clegg averaged 27 points and eight assists, Wayne Memorial cruised through the regular season and districts before hitting the wall in regionals. Destroying Wayne Memorial junior Jeanae Terry (left) guards Camree Clegg during a recent practice. “Losing in the regionals was heartbreaking,” Mitchell said. “Any team that misses 17 layups, 11 free throws and turns the ball over 18 times, it’s tough to win. I don’t care who you’re playing against. “So when a game comes down to those numbers, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth ... girls felt like we let it slip away.” Lesson learned Clegg noted that the crushing defeat taught her and the rest of the Zebras something important. And since the team captain is an exemplary student taking Advanced Placement courses, it’s pretty certain she retained the entire lesson. “I learned that you can’t take any game for granted,” Clegg emphasized. “Any game could be your last so you got to play every game like it is your last. “But this team, we’re definitely better. I think we can definitely go farther than we did last year.” The Zebras could really earn their basketball stripes in Clegg’s third and final season there. The right move But she and Mitchell both shake their heads in amazement when they look back on Clegg’s decision to transfer from Detroit Country Day in Beverly Hills after her freshman season. (Clegg did see action in a few games at Country Day in 2014-15.) Who knows how things might have turned out at Wayne Memorial had Clegg merely stayed put with the Yellowjackets — a storied program and magnet for college basketball scouts to find talent. “Yeah, 110 percent I did the right thing,” Clegg said. “At the time I was going back and forth, ‘Do I really want to leave? Should I go? This is a big leap of faith.’ “But I trusted myself and I trusted in what Jarvis was doing, and it ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made.” Mitchell, however, acknowledged that staying at private school Country Day would have been an “absolute slam dunk” for Clegg’s quest to land a college opportunity. On the flip side, Wayne Memorial went 0-21 in 2014-15 and the future was filled with questions. Getting noticed Enter Clegg, convinced by Mitchell that she’d have a better chance to develop and get noticed playing for his team. Destroying It was Wayne Memorial girls basketball coach Jarvis Mitchell (pictured) who coined the nickname for Camree Clegg. “Camree lives down the street, she lives two blocks from here,” Mitchell said. “I’m not sure about the financial situation, but that plays a part, too. “And then you have to drive for an hour and a half to drive to Country Day, in the snow and things of that nature.” It helped that Clegg had a mentor in Mitchell, who beginning that spring started coaching her with his Amateur Athletic Union basketball team. “He believed in me,” Clegg continued. “So it was an easy move for me. But all credit to them (Yellowjackets), they’re a great program, they have a great coach (Frank) Orlando. I just saw myself better here, I think I had a better opportunity here.” Smart and sensible In the time since her transfer to Wayne Memorial, Clegg has grown considerably both as a basketball player and all-around person. “Camree is probably the most likeable kid, ever, because of her personality,” Mitchell beamed. “She’s so smart, the kid has a 4.0 with a 1200 SAT. She’s very compassionate, she loves her teammates. “She has a car now, so she picks them up, she takes them food. She kind of serves like an assistant coach sometimes. We went to team camp this year (in Fort Wayne, Ind.) and she helped drive. Teenagers are gung ho about driving anyway, ... she’s becoming a pillar in the community.” Destroying Showing her skills during a Wayne Memorial practice is senior point guard Camree Clegg. Her prep career skyrocketed after transferring from Detroit Country Day in 2015. Clegg, whose parents are Boston and Felicia Clegg, is all about accountability, too. That is something that amazes Mitchell — who serves as a father figure on the basketball side of things, having played point guard at the collegiate and professional levels (the latter in Latvia). “I’m able to tell her that this is what’s expected,” Mitchell said. “When any of my players get to college, they won’t be blindsided by anything.” She leads stretching exercises before a Zebras’ practice, sitting in the center and giving out instructions to the rest of the team. She gets after it on the basketball court during workouts and games, but isn’t afraid to blame herself if something backfires. “Camree is a vocal leader, she’ll get her teammates in line,” Mitchell stressed. “And then she’ll come up to me and say ‘Hey coach, I messed up.’ She’ll hold herself accountable even when it really wasn’t her fault.” Which is why Mitchell has no doubt Clegg will keep grinding it out physically and mentally in order to succeed at Clemson. Better get ready “She’s going to the ACC,” he said. “The ACC is one of the best if not the best college conferences for (women’s) basketball. So as much as it’s an honor, you’re also going to have your boots strapped tight. Because it’s not going to be easy.” Clegg said waiting for the Clemson offer proved to be another winning move, the same way transferring to Wayne Memorial turned out to be. “That was my 11th or 12th offer,” Clegg noted. “I went down there (Clemson) and it was just everything. Anything I thought I wanted in a college they had, the family atmosphere, in the south. “And my former AAU teammate and former Country Day teammate Tylar Bennett goes there. I’ll always have somebody down there if I ever get homesick. And the coaches are great. It was just a perfect fit for me.” Yet there remains some more goals to surpass at Wayne Memorial in 2017-18, a season that began in karma-like fashion for Clegg with a game-winning triple to defeat — of course -- Detroit Country Day in the opening game. “She started off with 41 points against Country Day, and hit the game-winning three, it was amazing,” Mitchell said. “If you draw up a story, that would be the best-seller. Because it was a dream come true. It was something she envisioned a long time ago, and she seized the moment.” Double bonus? Doing everything in her Godzilla-like power to help the Zebras win a championship is another dream Clegg wants to fulfill. If that were to happen, perhaps there would be a Miss Basketball trophy in her future. That award will be presented in March by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan and Detroit Free Press. Other early contenders include Novi’s Ellie Mackay and two players from the Yellowjackets — Maxine Moore and Kaela Webb. “Team comes first before me,” asserted Clegg, asked about the possibility of winning the prestigious award. “I just want everybody to get better, I want us to compete every night.” With Camree Clegg taking the wheel of the Wayne Memorial basketball bus, that’s a given. When that’s over and done with, it’s on to Clemson. Look out South Carolina, here she comes. Destroying Camree Clegg. THE CAMREE CLEGG FILE Who: Camree Clegg, 17, senior point guard for Wayne Memorial’s varsity girls bas想 

Destroying "anything that comes in her way," Camree Clegg a beast for Wayne basketball

2018-01-06 06:44:54来源：hometownlife分类：国际阅读(1)

Camree Clegg is all smiles about getting a full-ride scholarship to play women's basketball at Clemson University.

Although Camree Clegg is only 5-foot-5, the Wayne Memorial senior point guard already is a Big-Time Talent who inspires a nickname befitting Marvel Comics.

Who else could own and completely justify the wild nickname Zebras’ coach Jarvis Mitchell slapped on her — “The Beast That Swallowed Tokyo.”

And Clegg could enjoy some big success the rest of her high school career, including potentially being named Miss Basketball and helping lead her team to a long postseason run, before taking her hoop skills and 4.5 grade-point average to Division I Clemson University.

Dare we say a major force of nature is headed to South Carolina? Clegg recently signed her national letter of intent to play at Clemson, in the top-drawer Atlantic Coast Conference.

“Man, one day we were all in the gym,” said the 17-year-old Clegg, recalling when her nickname was coined. “And he (Mitchell) said ‘Yo, the beast that swallowed Tokyo!’ I’m like, where did you come up with that?’ It’s just kind of stuck since then.

“In my opinion it kind of comes from the Godzilla type of thing. He thinks I’m really small, but I have a really big heart and play bigger than what I am. I think it fits.”

"Miss Basketball" contender Camree Clegg is one of the smaller players on the team, but you would never know it by watching her performance on the basketball court.

Odds in her favor

A couple years later, the high-energy, likeable Mitchell isn’t taking it back, either.

“Everyone knows Godzilla’s thing was he destroyed everything that came in his way,” explained Mitchell, adding with a laugh that “so you look at her body, not a beast at all.

“... We have fun with it, but honestly she destroys anything that comes in her way. I’ve coached her over 200 games, and I can probably think of once or twice that the other point guard got the best of her. Other than that, I feel that’s a matchup I’m going to win 99.999 percent of the time.”

That could mean plenty of trouble for other Kensington Lakes Activities Association teams during 2017-18, not to mention opponents the Zebras hope to meet — and vanquish — in the state playoffs.

For Mitchell, Clegg, junior standout Jeanae Terry and the rest of the team, there remains unfinished business from last winter. A season ago, when Clegg averaged 27 points and eight assists, Wayne Memorial cruised through the regular season and districts before hitting the wall in regionals.

Wayne Memorial junior Jeanae Terry (left) guards Camree Clegg during a recent practice.

“Losing in the regionals was heartbreaking,” Mitchell said. “Any team that misses 17 layups, 11 free throws and turns the ball over 18 times, it’s tough to win. I don’t care who you’re playing against.

“So when a game comes down to those numbers, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth ... girls felt like we let it slip away.”

Lesson learned

Clegg noted that the crushing defeat taught her and the rest of the Zebras something important.

And since the team captain is an exemplary student taking Advanced Placement courses, it’s pretty certain she retained the entire lesson.

“I learned that you can’t take any game for granted,” Clegg emphasized. “Any game could be your last so you got to play every game like it is your last.

“But this team, we’re definitely better. I think we can definitely go farther than we did last year.”

The Zebras could really earn their basketball stripes in Clegg’s third and final season there.

The right move

But she and Mitchell both shake their heads in amazement when they look back on Clegg’s decision to transfer from Detroit Country Day in Beverly Hills after her freshman season. (Clegg did see action in a few games at Country Day in 2014-15.)

Who knows how things might have turned out at Wayne Memorial had Clegg merely stayed put with the Yellowjackets — a storied program and magnet for college basketball scouts to find talent.

“Yeah, 110 percent I did the right thing,” Clegg said. “At the time I was going back and forth, ‘Do I really want to leave? Should I go? This is a big leap of faith.’

“But I trusted myself and I trusted in what Jarvis was doing, and it ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made.”

Mitchell, however, acknowledged that staying at private school Country Day would have been an “absolute slam dunk” for Clegg’s quest to land a college opportunity.

On the flip side, Wayne Memorial went 0-21 in 2014-15 and the future was filled with questions.

Getting noticed

Enter Clegg, convinced by Mitchell that she’d have a better chance to develop and get noticed playing for his team.

It was Wayne Memorial girls basketball coach Jarvis Mitchell (pictured) who coined the nickname for Camree Clegg.

“Camree lives down the street, she lives two blocks from here,” Mitchell said. “I’m not sure about the financial situation, but that plays a part, too.

“And then you have to drive for an hour and a half to drive to Country Day, in the snow and things of that nature.”

It helped that Clegg had a mentor in Mitchell, who beginning that spring started coaching her with his Amateur Athletic Union basketball team.

“He believed in me,” Clegg continued. “So it was an easy move for me. But all credit to them (Yellowjackets), they’re a great program, they have a great coach (Frank) Orlando. I just saw myself better here, I think I had a better opportunity here.”

Smart and sensible

In the time since her transfer to Wayne Memorial, Clegg has grown considerably both as a basketball player and all-around person.

“Camree is probably the most likeable kid, ever, because of her personality,” Mitchell beamed. “She’s so smart, the kid has a 4.0 with a 1200 SAT. She’s very compassionate, she loves her teammates.

“She has a car now, so she picks them up, she takes them food. She kind of serves like an assistant coach sometimes. We went to team camp this year (in Fort Wayne, Ind.) and she helped drive. Teenagers are gung ho about driving anyway, ... she’s becoming a pillar in the community.”

Showing her skills during a Wayne Memorial practice is senior point guard Camree Clegg. Her prep career skyrocketed after transferring from Detroit Country Day in 2015.

Clegg, whose parents are Boston and Felicia Clegg, is all about accountability, too. That is something that amazes Mitchell — who serves as a father figure on the basketball side of things, having played point guard at the collegiate and professional levels (the latter in Latvia).

“I’m able to tell her that this is what’s expected,” Mitchell said. “When any of my players get to college, they won’t be blindsided by anything.”

She leads stretching exercises before a Zebras’ practice, sitting in the center and giving out instructions to the rest of the team. She gets after it on the basketball court during workouts and games, but isn’t afraid to blame herself if something backfires.

“Camree is a vocal leader, she’ll get her teammates in line,” Mitchell stressed. “And then she’ll come up to me and say ‘Hey coach, I messed up.’ She’ll hold herself accountable even when it really wasn’t her fault.”

Which is why Mitchell has no doubt Clegg will keep grinding it out physically and mentally in order to succeed at Clemson.

Better get ready

“She’s going to the ACC,” he said. “The ACC is one of the best if not the best college conferences for (women’s) basketball. So as much as it’s an honor, you’re also going to have your boots strapped tight. Because it’s not going to be easy.”

Clegg said waiting for the Clemson offer proved to be another winning move, the same way transferring to Wayne Memorial turned out to be.

“That was my 11th or 12th offer,” Clegg noted. “I went down there (Clemson) and it was just everything. Anything I thought I wanted in a college they had, the family atmosphere, in the south.

“And my former AAU teammate and former Country Day teammate Tylar Bennett goes there. I’ll always have somebody down there if I ever get homesick. And the coaches are great. It was just a perfect fit for me.”

Yet there remains some more goals to surpass at Wayne Memorial in 2017-18, a season that began in karma-like fashion for Clegg with a game-winning triple to defeat — of course -- Detroit Country Day in the opening game.

“She started off with 41 points against Country Day, and hit the game-winning three, it was amazing,” Mitchell said. “If you draw up a story, that would be the best-seller. Because it was a dream come true. It was something she envisioned a long time ago, and she seized the moment.”

Double bonus?

Doing everything in her Godzilla-like power to help the Zebras win a championship is another dream Clegg wants to fulfill. If that were to happen, perhaps there would be a Miss Basketball trophy in her future.

That award will be presented in March by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan and Detroit Free Press. Other early contenders include Novi’s Ellie Mackay and two players from the Yellowjackets — Maxine Moore and Kaela Webb.

“Team comes first before me,” asserted Clegg, asked about the possibility of winning the prestigious award. “I just want everybody to get better, I want us to compete every night.”

With Camree Clegg taking the wheel of the Wayne Memorial basketball bus, that’s a given. When that’s over and done with, it’s on to Clemson.

Look out South Carolina, here she comes.

Camree Clegg.

THE CAMREE CLEGG FILE

Who: Camree Clegg, 17, senior point guard for Wayne Memorial’s varsity girls basketball team.

What: The 5-5 Clegg is a strong candidate to win “Miss Basketball,” and recently received a full-ride scholarship to play women’s basketball at Clemson University.

Gamble pays off: After her freshman season, Clegg transferred from Detroit Country Day in Beverly Hills to Wayne Memorial. The move turned out to be the right one, as Clegg has gained skills, poise and confidence under the guidance of coach Jarvis Mitchell.

Misc: Clegg, whose parents are Boston and Felicia Clegg of Wayne, carries an exemplary 4.5 grade-point average. She is taking Advanced Placement courses this year.

tsmith@hometownlife.com

Twitter: @TimSmith_Sports

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