Leaving the scorching Texas plains behind, one college basketball coach has settled into the frozen prairies of Alberta to chase his dream.
Michael Clemons is the assistant coach for the Lethbridge College Kodiaks men’s basketball team, who just claimed the bronze medal during the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference finals.
Growing up in El Paso, Texas, Clemons moved to Grand Prairie to play in the 2013 season, he remained there until 2016.
Following his tenure in the northern Alberta city, Clemons joined the Kodiaks in 2017.
He played for the team as a point guard until 2019 when he made the transition to become an assistant coach under Ryan Heggie, the head coach of the Kodiaks.
This was when things got interesting, according to Clemons.
“The transition was tricky because I used to play with some of those guys,” said Clemons.
He says his age also caused some challenges, being only 23-years-old at the time.
“Some of these guys are my friends so it was definitely a process learning to deal with relationships,” said Clemons.
The now 27-year-old coach says he even lives with one of the players on the team, creating another unique dynamic.
Filip Karanovic, a native of Montenegro, has played just one season with the Kodiaks.
Karanovic says he left his former school in Vancouver due to a difference in ideology with the coaching staff, but he’s meshed well with Clemons and the Kodiak staff.
“[The Vancouver coach] had a different system of playing and we didn’t get along basketball wise or personality wise,” said Karanovic.
He moved in with Clemons at the start of the season, which has ensured a close bond between the two.
“Good, bad or indifferent, we’re going home together,” said Clemons.
He says the challenge of relationship management has been the most difficult part of his transition so far, but he still feels right at home in the management role.
“I’ve always been just a vocal leader, so being in that position to have a bit more control was actually a little bit better,” said Clemons.
However, Clemons says he does miss his playing days.
“I’m a player first, but I like coaching because you can control more,” said Clemons.
He was an incredibly successful player, being named an All-Conference player in each of his five ACAC seasons.
Clemons was also named MVP and Kodiaks men’s athlete of the year in 2019.
His coaching career has been arguably just as successful.
The first season during his coaching tenure, Clemons helped the team reach a 20-1 regular season record.
However, the elusive gold medal still evades Clemons.
The Kodiaks men’s basketball team last won gold in 2015.
As for his future, Clemons plans to remain with the Kodiaks for at least one more season.
He is classified as an international student and so he must remain in school to stay in Canada under his current visa.
Although he’s coaching for the college, Clemons studies at the University of Lethbridge.
Clemons says his future if full of opportunity and he has several paths open to him.
“Do I want to go to a higher level of [basketball], which I have a chance to do, or do I want to run it back with some of my guys that I’ve invested time in?”
Clemons says he just needs to put one foot in front of the other and continue as per usual.
“You don’t really stop, you don’t want to stop either,” said Clemons.
Karanovic says he has been impressed with the Kodiaks under the keen eye of Clemons.
“I think we played way better than we were supposed to play … we overachieved in the regular season,” said Karanovic.
The Kodiaks have already begun recruiting for next season, which starts in September.
Comentários