Clement's return to Cardinal O'Hara inspires memories for her and her fans
"It" was the thing to do, Mary Sheehan's dad, Dennis, said as he explained the atmosphere to his daughter, a senior.
"It" was the thing to do, Mary Sheehan's dad, Dennis, said as he explained the atmosphere to his daughter, a senior.
Lines out of the door.
Packed rickety bleachers.
Noise everywhere.
If you lived in the vicinity of Cardinal O'Hara during the years 1993-1997, "it" meant seeing Kristen "Ace" Clement and the Lions play basketball.
The more Sheehan's family talked about it, the clearer the picture got for Mary.
"You started to get the feel of just how great she really was," the St. Joseph's recruit said. "Girls' basketball is getting more attention now, more than it did 20 years ago. So for the lines to be out the door, you think, 'Wow, this girl must have been something really special.' "
That's a sentiment coach Linus McGinty tried to emphasize to Hannah Nihill one day during her freshman year when he pulled the point guard aside as she walked into practice.
"Yo, girl," he said, in a way that only the longtime coach can.
He pointed to Clement's No. 33 jersey hanging in the rafters, Nihill remembers, and explained what the former all-American University of Tennessee standout and WNBA player meant to the program.
"That's where it all started," the coach told the Drexel recruit.
She nodded. Nihill understood. Still, it's a conversation McGinty would have with her again - usually before big games - to give the player holding court in Clement's position some extra motivation.
"During practice, I'm a little guilty of looking up," Nihill said of all the banners. "I never get bored of reading them. I'll always look up at the 1,000-point scorers, always look around the gym and notice them, especially the Catholic League titles."
Maggie Lucas was in second grade the first time she saw Clement play. Her dad, Albert, used to take her to see the best teams play, and he wanted her to see Ace, she said. Lucas was already starting to fall in love with the game. But then she saw Clement play for the Lady Vols against St. Joseph's.
Current Harriton coach Kacy McNichol first saw Clement play for the Lions when she was in elementary school. The experience stuck with her.
"Going to high school games then, the stands were packed. Everybody knew everybody. The rivalries were huge. Student sections were crazy, and I remember thinking that high school kids were such role models," McNichol said. "That was my childhood, going to different games, tagging along. You just dreamed of being on that court someday and playing at the high school."
This is how the anecdotes go when you start asking questions about Clement.
Big words follow. Superstar. Rock star.
Last weekend, that same Clement, the one who scored 2,256 points for O'Hara and captured three Catholic League championships, returned home for the first time in 20 years.
On that Friday, she went to the Lions' game against Bonner-Prendergast, where she surprised the girls in the locker room afterward.
"This is Kristen," is how McGinty introduced her to his shocked players.
Last Saturday was her induction into the school's Hall of Fame. Sheehan was there to witness it, and then there was Sunday morning, when Clement and the Lions held a clinic.
"Getting back to O'Hara and my community was a top priority," said Clement, now a director with Kids Across America (KAA), a sports ministry and non-profit. "I want to give back any way I can to a community that helped me get to where I am. This was very important for my family to see my story, my roots, part of where I come from.
"I cannot really put it into words," she added. "My heart was flooded with a lot of emotions, memories, in a good way. I've done many things on that court, jam-packed houses, lines out the gym. There were many, many emotions. It was good to be home."
Clement is still very much that person who filled gymnasiums to capacity. She is personable and has a big smile, just like the high schooler who used to stay a half hour or so after games to sign autographs.
She does say "y'all" a lot now, the result of living in Chattanooga with her husband, Avery, and their two daughters. And her hair is also darker, something that made Nihill and Sheehan not recognize her at first.
As a part of KAA, Clement helps run sports camps that also include the arts to impact the lives of children in urban areas. She finds the work rewarding, fulfilling and is passionate about helping kids.
"To think that she went here is really cool," Sheehan said. "To meet her, I was kind of star struck. Yeah, I wasn't born when she played at O'Hara, but her legacy has impacted everyone since."
Clement was the first basketball player that Lucas - who plays for the WNBA's Indiana Fever - was passionate about, and her Vols were the first team the former Germantown Academy standout actively rooted for.
That day at St. Joe's when she was just eight years old was what did it for Lucas. After the game, she stayed to get autographs, and when she saw Clement emerge, Lucas told her dad, Albert, that she'd be back before disappearing into the crowd.
The next thing Albert saw was his daughter pop up right in front of Clement as she got her signature.
That AAU season Lucas changed her number. She'd no longer wear No. 14.
She's been wearing No. 33 ever since.
@ka_harman