Chris Clemons (basketball)

Christopher Adam Clemons (born July 23, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Campbell Fighting Camels.[1]

Chris Clemons
Clemons with the Campbell Fighting Camels in 2016
No. 3 – Houston Rockets
PositionPoint guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1997-07-23) July 23, 1997
Raleigh, North Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High schoolMillbrook
(Raleigh, North Carolina)
CollegeCampbell (2015–2019)
NBA draft2019 / Undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–presentHouston Rockets
2019–2020→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life and high school career

Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, Clemons idolized Allen Iverson and sought to incorporate Iverson's crossover dribble into his playing style. Despite standing 5'9, Clemons could dunk in high school at Millbrook. Campbell coach Kevin McGeehan recruited him due to his confidence and 44-inch vertical leap.[2] In a state tournament game as a senior, Clemons broke the school single-game record with 41 points.[3]

College career

Clemons averaged 18.5 points per game as a freshman at Campbell and was named the Big South Freshman of the Year.[3] Shooting 18-of-32 from the field, Clemons scored 51 points in an 81-79 win over UNC Asheville in the Big South Tournament as a sophomore, breaking the tournament scoring record. He became the fourth player to score 50 points that season.[4] Clemons was named to the First Team All-Big South in his sophomore season.[5] As a sophomore, Clemons averaged 25.1 points per game, second highest in Division I behind Marcus Keene, and took 42.2 percent of his team's shots, the highest percentage in college basketball.[2] With 904 points, Clemons set the school record for points in a season.[6]

Clemons had a season-high 42 points against Liberty on January 23, 2018 and alongside Marcus Burk became the first teammates in NCAA history to each hit 10 threes in a game.[7] He passed the 2,000 point mark in his career on February 7, scoring 33 points in a win against Gardner–Webb.[8] On March 14, Clemons passed Jonathan Rodriguez as Campbell's all-time leading scorer, adding 32 points in a win against Miami (Ohio).[9] Clemons repeated on the First Team All-Big South as a junior and received seven first place votes for conference player of the year.[10] As a junior, Clemons averaged 24.9 points per game, fourth highest in the nation. He helped the Camels go 18-16 and play in the College Basketball Invitational. After the season, Clemons declared for the 2018 NBA draft but did not hire an agent, thus preserving his collegiate eligibility.[11] He decided to withdraw from the draft and return to Campbell.[6]

Coming into his senior season, Clemons was named Preseason Big South Player of the Year.[12] On December 21, 2018, Clemons became the all-time leading scorer in Big South history. He passed VMI guard Reggie Williams' 2,556 career point total in a game against Austin Peay.[13] He led NCAA Division 1 in scoring with 30.1 points per game and became the third highest scorer in college basketball history.[14]

Professional career

Houston Rockets (2019–present)

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Clemons joined the Houston Rockets for the 2019 NBA Summer League, and later signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Rockets.[15] On October 17, the Rockets converted him to a two-way player.[16] Clemons made his NBA debut on November 3, scoring 16 points in a 129–100 loss to the Miami Heat.[17] On November 16, with Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon sidelined due to injury, Clemons scored a career-high 19 points in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.[14] On December 27, the Houston Rockets announced that they had converted the contract with Clemons into standard NBA contract.[18] Clemons recorded 14 points and three rebounds on January 10, 2020, in a 113–92 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[19] Clemons had his jersey retired at Campbell during the NBA All-Star Break.[14]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
* Led NCAA Division I

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Campbell 302932.2.424.374.8443.71.81.5.318.5
2016–17 Campbell 363433.5.447.354.8254.62.61.9.525.1
2017–18 Campbell 313034.0.452.371.8614.63.11.6.324.9
2018–19 Campbell 333336.6.448.357.8695.12.81.5.330.1*
Career 13012634.1.444.363.8524.52.61.6.424.8
gollark: I take it you're not interested in my Random Hatchlings™?
gollark: Banana footballs.
gollark: *is slightly frustrated at Infinis accepting first two siyat trades very fast but leaving my offer (which will probably be denied in the end...) standing eternally*
gollark: * *displays* the same main page
gollark: How am I meant to get my golds now?!

See also

References
  1. "Houston Rockets sign some exciting undrafted free agents". Space City Scoop. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  2. Forgrave, Reid (October 7, 2017). "The nation's leading returning scorer may be small, but has big dream of NBA Draft". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 6, 2018.
  3. Schafer, Josh (March 2, 2018). "Campbell's 5-foot-9 guard Chris Clemons is among the nation's top scorers". The Daily Orange. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. Payne, Terrence (March 2, 2017). "Campbell's Chris Clemons scores 51 in quarterfinal upset". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  5. "Big South Announces 2016-17 Men's Basketball Award Winners" (Press release). Big South Conference. February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  6. Pope, Jonas (May 30, 2018). "Former Millbrook star Chris Clemons withdraws from NBA draft, heads back to Campbell". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  7. Fuchs, Jeremy (February 13, 2018). "Top Scorer and 5'9" Campbell Guard Chris Clemons Is Out to Prove Himself". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  8. "Clemons scores 2,000th point in Campbell victory". The Fayetteville Observer. February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 10, 2018.
  9. Newkirk, Sam (March 15, 2018). "Time to go pro? Campbell basketball star Chris Clemons announces his plans". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  10. "Big South Announces 2017-18 Men's Basketball Award Winners" (Press release). Big South Conference. February 26, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  11. Blake, J. Mike (April 3, 2018). "Time to go pro? Campbell basketball star Chris Clemons announces his plans". The News & Observer. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  12. "Big South Announces 2018-19 Men's Basketball Preseason Awards". Big South Conference. October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  13. Allen, Jim (December 22, 2018). "Chris Clemons Becomes Big South's All-Time Scorer". Big South Conference. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  14. DuBose, Ben (February 16, 2020). "Campbell University retires jersey of Rockets rookie Chris Clemons". Rockets Wire. Retrieved February 22, 2020.
  15. "Roster Update: Rockets GM Daryl Morey announced today the team has signed rookie free agent guards Chris Clemons, Shamorie Ponds and William McDowell-White. All three players will represent the Rockets at NBA Summer League 2019, which begins on Friday". Houston Rockets on Twitter. July 4, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
  16. "Houston Rockets convert rookie Chris Clemons to two-way contract". USA Today. October 17, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  17. Baxley, Rodd (November 4, 2019). "Campbell's Chris Clemons scores 16 in NBA debut". Fayetteville Observer. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  18. "Rockets Convert Contract of Chris Clemons". NBA.com. December 27, 2019. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  19. "Rockets' Chris Clemons: Scores 14 points in loss". CBS Sports. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
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