Chris Clemons (basketball)

Chris Clemons
No. 24 – Campbell Fighting Camels
Position Point guard
League Big South Conference
Personal information
Born (1997-07-23) July 23, 1997
Raleigh, North Carolina
Nationality American
Listed height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight 180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school Millbrook (Raleigh, North Carolina)
College Campbell (2015–present)
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× First-team All-Big South (2017, 2018)
  • Big South Freshman of the Year (2016)

Christopher Adam Clemons (born July 23, 1997) is an American college basketball player for Campbell University.

Early life and high school career

Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, Clemons idolized Allen Iverson and sought to incorporate Iverson's crossover dribble into his playing style. Despite standing 5'9, Clemons could dunk in high school at Millbrook. Campbell coach Kevin McGeehan recruited him due to his confidence and 44-inch vertical leap.[1] In a state tournament game as a senior, Clemons broke the school single-game record with 41 points.[2]

College career

Clemons averaged 18.5 points per game as a freshman at Campbell and was named the Big South Freshman of the Year.[2] Shooting 18-of-32 from the field, Clemons scored 51 points in a 81-79 win over UNC Asheville in the Big South Tournament as a sophomore, breaking the tournament scoring record. He became the fourth player to score 50 points that season.[3] Clemons was named to the First Team All-Big South in his sophomore season.[4] As a sophomore, Clemons averaged 25.1 points per game, second highest in Division I behind Marcus Keene, and took 42.2 percent of his team's shots, the highest percentage in college basketball.[1] With 904 points, Clemons set the school record for points in a season.[5]

Clemons had a season-high 42 points against Liberty on January 23, 2018 and alongside Marcus Burk became the first teammates in NCAA history to each hit 10 threes in a game.[6] He passed the 2,000 point mark in his career on February 7, scoring 33 points in a win against Gardner–Webb.[7] On March 14, Clemons passed Jonathan Rodriguez as Campbell's all-time leading scorer, adding 32 points in a win against Miami (Ohio).[8] Clemons repeated on the First Team All-Big South as a junior and received seven first place votes for conference player of the year.[9] As a junior, Clemons averaged 24.9 points per game, fourth highest in the nation. He helped the Camels go 18-16 and play in the College Basketball Invitational. After the season, Clemons declared for the 2018 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, thus preserving his collegiate eligibility.[10] He decided to withdraw from the draft and return to Campbell.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Forgrave, Reid (October 7, 2017). "The nation's leading returning scorer may be small, but has big dream of NBA Draft". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Schafer, Josh (March 2, 2018). "Campbell's 5-foot-9 guard Chris Clemons is among the nation's top scorers". The Daily Orange. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  3. ↑ Payne, Terrence (March 2, 2017). "Campbell's Chris Clemons scores 51 in quarterfinal upset". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Big South Announces 2016-17 Men's Basketball Award Winners" (Press release). Big South Conference. February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  5. 1 2 Pope, Jonas (May 30, 2018). "Former Millbrook star Chris Clemons withdraws from NBA draft, heads back to Campbell". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  6. ↑ Fuchs, Jeremy (February 13, 2018). "Top Scorer and 5'9" Campbell Guard Chris Clemons Is Out to Prove Himself". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Clemons scores 2,000th point in Campbell victory". The Fayetteville Observer. February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ Newkirk, Sam (March 15, 2018). "Time to go pro? Campbell basketball star Chris Clemons announces his plans". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Big South Announces 2017-18 Men's Basketball Award Winners" (Press release). Big South Conference. February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  10. ↑ Blake, J. Mike (April 3, 2018). "Time to go pro? Campbell basketball star Chris Clemons announces his plans". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.