A Lethbridge College Kodiaks basketball player is stealing the show as he breaks yet another ACAC record.
Before Jan 4., Michael Clemons, Kodiaks point guard, was already holding the ACAC all-time assists record.
However, during the game against the Medicine Hat Rattlers, he also became the steals record holder with 210.
Clemons is currently in his final year of post-secondary sports and is taking Exercise Science at the college.
The 5-8 guard hails from El Paso, TX and his basketball career started when he played in a summer basketball league at the age of eight.
He played high school basketball for Parkland High School where he averaged 6.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game, well over the national average.
Clemons says ever since he started playing basketball at eight, he has played it year-round.
“I played all the way into college. I’ve never had time off until I was hurt in 2016 and then I was off for a year because of my wrist. But other than that, I have played high school, summer or college.”
After high school, Clemons would make the trek to northern Alberta where he would play three years for the Grande Prairie Regional College Wolves, while winning MVP every year.
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Later, he would transfer to Cape Breton University for a semester where he had to take a year off from basketball because of a wrist injury.
During his break, he a got a call from Tyson Pushor, a former teammate and the Kodiaks’ assistant coach, to come play in southern Alberta.
Later that year, he signed with the team.
Jackson Kasko, Clemons’ teammate, says he is an all-around basketball player and a great leader.
“He is always looking for the open man on the court, he is a dog on defense and super intense player. As a leader, he is always looking to go the extra step for his teammates.”
Head coach Ryan Heggie summarizes his game into one word – playmaker.
However, his scoring abilities also fly under the radar, says Heggie.
“He is our quarterback, playmaker on the court. His shooting is also very under-rated. He scored 29 points the other night because he needed to and they gave him the shot.”
But Clemons doesn’t want all the spotlight to himself.
He explains his teammates make it easy on him by always being open for shots.
“I have a lot of guys who compliment my game well and they make it easy for me. It’s a lot easier on me this year, a lot of shooters around me and a lot of guys who can create their own shots. It’s a lot of fun playing with them.”
From one end of his career to the other, Clemons won the Texas State free throw competition when he was only eight-years old and earned four ACAC All-Conference awards.
Clemons and the Kodiaks will be away in Red Deer this weekend. But the next home game will be on Feb. 2, when the team takes on the Ambrose Lions.
