Niner Report Commentary, good read

I thought this hit hard the other day. I didn't receive permission to reprint earlier or would've posted it sooner.

Commentary: Clemmons not Brown is the Niner leader
By Justin Vick, Special to NinerReport.com

As a UNC Charlotte student newspaper reporter covering Charlotte 49ers athletics, sometimes I find myself wincing at the questions asked by my professional colleagues at post-game press conferences.

Friday’s men’s basketball opener was no exception.

After a hard-fought 80-76 loss to George Washington, Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz, just like every other losing coach at these question-and-answer sessions, has to give canned answers on why they lost, how he feels about losing and how the team will recover.

Lutz summed it up with poor defense and shooting, which were factors, but not the definitive dot on the exclamation point.

The turning point was the foul by senior “leader” Demon Brown at 1:59 left in the game followed by an unwarranted reaction to the call that resulted in a technical foul.

A three-point Charlotte lead turned into a one-point deficit the Niners couldn’t recover from as George Washington hit four consecutive free throws.

But despite Brown’s immaturity, the reporters at the press conference seemed to feast on the ego of freshman standout Martin Iti, whose sole contribution to the stat sheet in his college basketball debut was four fouls in five minutes.

The local reporters were relentless with a barrage of questions and they have reason to be. Iti is the most-heralded recruit to ever put on a Charlotte uniform and was a big reason for the Niners getting preseason attention.

Lutz could do nothing but answer the same questions phrased differently as diplomatically as possible.
Teammate Calvin Clemmons had heard enough, however.

As Lutz finished up his comments on Iti, the usually-quiet senior center spoke up.

”I just want to say something,” Clemmons said to everyone’s surprise, even startling his coach. “My teammates don’t know it, but Martin is in the gym at 7 a.m. by himself working on his game,” Clemmons told reporters about Iti’s commitment. “I don’t want anybody thinking that he knows he’s going to do big things, so he is not going to work as hard. Martin is there Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:30 or 7 a.m. I know it because he wakes me up when he leaves the apartment.”

Lutz, who stood at the press conference podium, took one look to his left at Clemmons defending his vulnerable teammate before looking back at reporters.

It was clear to everyone in the room who is the leader of this team. And if Clemmons isn’t the leader of this team behind the scenes, then he very well should be.

Who would be better suited for the role?

Brown? Ha! I laugh at anyone who says that with a straight face.

When your up by three with under two minutes to play and you’ve just committed a foul, you don’t knock the ball from the opposing team’s hands when the referee is standing right there.

Since the opening tip, the candy stripers were calling fouls left and right.

What was Brown thinking?

Probably about himself, as usual.

As the Niners struggled last season, Brown made sure he got his points. Meanwhile, team chemistry and morale were thrown out the window and the team gave Lutz his worst season as Charlotte coach.

Moving Brown over to point guard this season probably won’t get him embracing a team-oriented mindset either. He had one assist and three turnovers in his first game as point guard. Penetration has never been his bag. Nine of his 10 shots were outside the arc and when you brick all but two of them, it does nothing for the team.

Brown, a fifth-year senior, plays with the maturity and intelligence of a fifth-year freshman at times.

Clemmons, in contrast, is the textbook example of how hard work pays off.
Transferring to Charlotte in 2001 after two seasons of being a seldom-used bench player at South Carolina, Clemmons amazed fans with his physical presence.

A stalwart in the gym last season, he looked like a man chiseled from granite worrying many fans that if he were to crack a smile it would potentially tear many of the tight muscles in his face and neck.

Clemmons didn’t get a fair shake last season to live up to his potential.

Just three games into the season he tore the PCL in his left knee and missed 10 games. He tackled rehabilitation so hard that his injured leg was much stronger than the good one. His return to the court was a career high 12-point performance and that was after just two days of practice following a six-week layoff.

Clemmons appears to have much more spring to his step this season.

He had a career high 17 points and 12 rebounds against George Washington. His footwork in the post has improved drastically this year, a credit to Charlotte’s new strength and conditioning coach.

Coming into this season, Clemmons has shed four percent body fat and gained six more pounds of muscle to his 6’8 frame.

Though he was 4-for-14 in the season opener, Clemmons didn’t take a bad shot. By midseason, many of the easy shots he missed against George Washington should fall.

By constantly revising his body and working on his game, Clemmons is the perfect role model for a young, vulnerable Iti in terms of hard work, conditioning, patience and class.

Perhaps Brown could learn a thing or two from Clemmons.

This commentary is reprinted with the permission of Jason Jordan at NinerReport.com.

 

i would vote calvin clemmons for team captain and team MVP right now