|
|
Greenville senior Caleb Clements battles for a loose ball against Byron Center in a game this season. Clements will play basketball for MCC next year. — DN file photo
GREENVILLE — Caleb Clements is a name Greenville basketball fans have come to know over the last three years. Now, he’s sticking around for a couple more.
The three-year varsity starter recently finished his high school basketball career as a Yellow Jacket with an exciting final season as they celebrated their most successful record in over a decade. Now knowing what winning culture looks like, Clements looks forward to taking his basketball talents a short 13 miles from home to Montcalm Community College (MCC) for their debut season.
Greenville senior Caleb Clements brings the ball up the court in district action against Cedar Springs. — DN file photo
This year’s Jackets’ basketball team only had two seniors on their roster. Being one of those two, Clements focused on setting good examples for the underclassmen, both on and off the court.
“I just basically showed up every day,” he said. “I showed that I’m committed as much as they should be and I hope that they look up to me. Off the court, I just focused on being their friend. I wanted to make sure I had a good relationship with all of them.
Clements had to take on the responsibility of being the lone starting senior on the court early on in the season after senior and fellow teammate Trevor Zamarron suffered an ACL injury. From the moment it happened, Clements knew he had to step up in a big way.
“The moment Trevor got injured, I knew it wasn’t good,” he said. “From that day on, I thought ‘If it is a serious injury, I’m going to have to take this role on.’ It sucked to lose him but it also opened up a lot of opportunities for other people. It was definitely tough to lose him though.”
“He stepped up immediately for us,” head coach Joel Visser said. “Caleb never shied away from wanting to score or attacking the rim. He knew he was going to have to carry a larger load than anticipated. All the time he put in in the offseason really paid off. He really had to step into that role for us immediately and score for us.”
Clements was pulled up to the varsity level as a sophomore, not just to play but to start for the Jackets as well. Taking over the head coaching role his junior year, Visser has seen great improvement in Clements’ game in just a short amount of time.
“Skillswise, he did a much better job of finishing inside this year and finishing at the bucket,” Visser said. “He still had a green light to shoot for three, but he just did a better job of getting to where he needed to go. That’s really because of him playing football and staying in the weight room during the offseason. Him getting stronger and faster just allowed him to play longer minutes and score more points at the rim.”
Clements recently committed to further his athletic and academic journeys at Montcalm Community College. With this being their first men’s basketball team, he looks forward to being a part of it while also staying close to home.
“I liked the idea of being in town for two years,” he said. “You hear a lot of people starting out at the junior college level and then moving on to play D2 or even D1, so I just thought it was a great opportunity. With it being the first year of sports for them, I think it also gives me a good opportunity to play a lot more there, so that was a big factor.”
As his coach, Visser is thrilled about the experience Clements will have at the next level.
Greenville senior Caleb Clements fights past a Northview defender during a game this season. — DN file photo
“I’m excited,” Visser said. “As a coach, anytime a guy makes a choice to continue to play at the next level and gets that opportunity, as a basketball coach I’m thrilled. I think it’s great for our program and I think it’s great for Caleb. I’m happy to see him go on to play and I’m excited that he’s close by. I think it’s a good fit for him and I’m excited for him to get an opportunity.”
Clements has had plenty of experience playing against tough OK White conference teams at the varsity level. As he breaks into the world of college basketball, he claims his coaches are who have prepared him well for that next step.
“It all started when Rick Court (Greenville’s coordinator of athletic strength and conditioning) came in,” Clements said. “He pushes you at that college level because he’s coached at the college level. Then, Coach Visser came in and I think he was a really big factor in getting me ready for that next level. He played in college so he knows what they expect, and I think he’s pushed me a lot and shown what college ball will be like.”
Although his time as a Yellow Jacket has come to an end, he encourages his fellow teammates to strive for greatness.
“Just trust the process,” Clements said. “If a coach isn’t on you, it’s a bad thing. It’s better if a coach is on you constantly because it means they want you to do the best. I’m excited for the future, especially with still being around the area. I’ll be back to watch some games obviously, and I’m excited for it.”
“He’s just a lot of smiles and he enjoys having fun,” Visser said. “As a coach, I enjoyed watching him offensively because he had the ability to do a lot of things. He’s definitely going to be missed.”
