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Campbell’s 5-foot-9 guard Chris Clemons is among the nation’s top scorers

Courtesy of Bennett Scarborough

Chris Clemons has some impressive highlight reel dunks despite his small 5-foot-9 stature.

UPDATED: March 2, 2017 at 5:30 p.m.

The words follow Chris Clemons of Campbell University wherever he goes. Too small. He didn’t start on his AAU team because of it and, in high school, he didn’t talk to a single coach from a Power 5 program.

“Chris is a crazy good shooter and he’s crazy athletic,” said Clemons’ high school coach, Scott McInnes. “But it’s hard because a lot of schools saw his size and they are very concerned.”

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound sophomore’s stature isn’t an issue. He earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors last season, averaging 18.5 points per game. This season, his 23.1 points per game average ranks sixth in the nation. Campbell’s (14-16, 7-11 Big South) all-time leading underclassman scorer has posted more than 20 points in 21 of 29 games this season, and his 16 dunks are 10 more than any other player below 6 feet, according to a Feb. 23 article on Kenpom.com.

Despite his gaudy numbers, Clemons hasn’t received the same recognition as other leading scorers have. In high school, he notched 36 points against North Carolina State’s Dennis Smith Jr., the top-rated point guard in the 2016 class, per ESPN. Earlier this season, Clemons scored a career-high 37 points against Charleston Southern.



“There’s a chip on your shoulder to do something like I’m doing right here with points,” Clemons said. “Maybe (coaches) go back and think maybe we shouldn’t have overlooked this kid down here from Buies Creek (North Carolina).”

Clemons grew up 30 miles north of Buies Creek in Raleigh, where he dominated games in much the same way as he does now. In his senior year at Millbrook (North Carolina) High School, Clemons once scored 40 points, which he thought had cemented himself as the school’s top single-game scorer. But the next day, a local member of the town brought in a newspaper article stating that he had scored 40 points during the 1966-67 season.

A few weeks later, Clemons put up 41 in a state tournament game to snap the record.

“Chris believes he can hit any shot he takes,” his father, Carlyton, said. “He doesn’t second guess about a shot. He is that confident in his ability.”

Clemons compensates for his height with freakish jumping ability that runs in the family. His older brother Carlee jumped over three players, including current Duke player Harry Giles, as a high school senior at the Triad All-Star dunk contest. Chasing Carlee soon became forefront of Clemons’ aspirations. He dunked for the first time as a junior and has since made SportsCenter’s Top 10 three times, one more than Carlee

Clemons had the No. 5 play on SportsCenter’s Top 10 on Jan. 24, 2015, when he tossed the ball off the backboard, caught it back with his right hand and finished with a slam. He dunked 33 other times that year while setting the single-season points record, with 699. In one game, he clanked a jumper off the rim, followed his shot and jumped past two opponents to flush home the dunk, sending the crowd into delirium.

“I was just trying stuff I’d never tried before,” Clemons said.

At Millbrook, he played in the same conference as Boston College’s Jerome Robinson and Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham. He also matched up against former Duke standout Brandon Ingram.

Now at Campbell, Clemons is still turning heads. Earlier this season in a game against Samford, Clemons used a pick to free himself from his defender. Charging down the lane, he elevated above a 6-foot-8 defender to slam the ball. The video ran on CBSsports.com.

Clemons scores in bunches. Two weeks ago at Charleston Southern, Clemons racked up 10 points in the first five minutes of play. He went on to score 21 in the first half and finished the evening with 30.

“For a small school like us,” Clemons said, “it’s great to be that person that helps us get our name out there.”

For now, he remains in the Big South. But he hopes to once again play against big time opponents. Maybe, in the NBA.

“I am able to play with any of these guys, you know Power 5, ACC,” Clemons said. “I’m confident I can go to the next play level.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, the name of Campbell University was misstated. The Daily Orange regrets this error.





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