He earned the benefits of his success the hard way. One recalls the time he made a special visit to west side community of North Lawndale in Chicago. This reviewer was Branch Librarian at the Frederik Douglass Branch of the Chicago Public Library at the time and asked him to visit. He and basketball Legend, Connie Hawkins were playing with Pheonix Suns in the NBA and took time out to come to a neighborhood with extreme challenges for black people living there at the time. These two pro stars addressed a group of guys who were in a special alternative high school education program housed at the library and in need of good male role models to help them along the way.
Basketball is a young sport.
Many of its pioneers and heroes are still with us. Clem is one of those pioneers, one of those heroes. He has a tremendously comprehensive understanding of the game at all levels, its setting and place in society, how it is to be played. How a local boy within the confines of that institution, went on to impact the world. So much can be learned from the perspective that Clem has on the sport, players and the world that is basketball.