Q&A with TBE alum and rising prospect Zachary Clemence
He’s 6’10, quick, and skilled around the rim and beyond the arc.
He’s the No. 7 power forward in the country, a four-star prospect with an offer list that stretches further than the road from San Antonio to Wichita, which he traveled last year to enroll at Sunrise Christian Academy - one of the most prestigious basketball prep schools in the country.
His name is Zachary Clemence, and he’s a TBE alum working to fulfill his lifelong dream of playing in the NBA. The rising junior took a few minutes to talk with us about the things he’s working on during lockdown, how TBE’s coaching has impacted his game, and the differences between international and domestic styles of play.
You can listen to the interview here, or read the full transcript under the video.
ZM: Before the lockdown, your Sunrise Christian Prep team was ranked No. 4 in the country and scheduled to play in GEICO Final Four. How do you feel about your junior season?
ZC: I feel like it’s not completed. I just wish I could finish that out. We can’t play EYBL this year, too, so my junior year doesn’t feel finished. It just feels like it was paused, and will never be played again.
ZM: What have you been doing during the lockdown to make sure you’re progressing in your game?
ZC: Right now, I’m actually trying to put on weight just so when I get back into it, it’s going to be easier to get into it all. I try to lift two times a day. I’ll run, even though I don’t like that. I try to do everything. I lift, I’m trying to eat well. Push-ups, sit-ups. I go to the gym two to three times a week, or whenever I can. Literally anything.
ZM: What other skills are you trying to sharpen to prepare for the next level?
ZC: Definitely handles and the way I move. Really everything. Handles, shooting and strength.
ZM: What was your experience like training with The Basketball Embassy’s Justin Berry?
ZC: I used to work out with Justin every day out in the heat on the court. Post moves, mid-game, shooting. And the crazy part is, when we’re in Massachusetts and all these big tournaments, I still go back to those same moves. If I get pulled out of the game, I’ll just be sitting there on the bench like, ‘Wow, I can remember doing these as an elementary kid. Out in the heat, rubber ball, and it just kind of leads back to Justin somehow.
ZM: As a potential USA Basketball prospect, does international play appeal to you?
ZC: For sure. Because I know there’s a bunch of people like me. I’ll be real, there’s not many people like me in the States but I know for sure there are overseas. And if I get to work with that everyday, like going against someone who’s 6’10, dribbling, shooting like I am, then that’s going to be a problem.
ZM: Do you think that’s something we’re lacking here, that kind of training for big men? We see the European style of play succeed in the NBA, but we don’t really see it at the high school level.
ZC: The thing in the States is, it’s not like we have big, mobile bigs. We have big bigs. They don’t move the floor well. I’m not saying they couldn’t, but they just need to start at a younger age. They’ve always been trained to sit in the post and get subbed out. I know from first experience, that’s what they did to me. I had to get it on my own.
ZM: I was going to say, you’ve probably experienced the same thing. You’re the tall kid, so they throw you down on the block and teach you moves from 1940 and it’s like, that’s not the game anymore.
ZC: That’s my whole childhood right there!
ZM: In recent years, a lot of players are foregoing the college route to go get some experience overseas, what do you make of that?
ZC: It’s good and bad. The thing is, in college, there’ll be some of the Europeans who’ll be playing with some of the top of the top. Overseas, you’re just there to hoop, but in college, you get an education, you get all that. And you don’t have to worry about being far from family. But overseas would be great.
ZM: I think of that a lot. At The Basketball Embassy, we go overseas and run camps, we have camps here, and we have a lot of international coaches and I just don’t think it’s something you see too often, adding that European flavor of coaching here in America.
ZC: Yeah, European coaching would be a huge change. If the way Europeans played came to the States, it would be crazy.
ZM: What do you think that would look like?
ZC: I don’t know, to be honest. ‘Cause there’s some athletic kids out there and very talented kids. It’s mostly like streetball, and just get to the hoop. But if they actually put structure into their game, I don’t know.
ZM: What are your specific personal goals for the future?
ZC: If you love the game of basketball, you’re going to want to try to make it to the league, so that’s definitely my No. 1. I will go D1, then I’m going to try to get to the league from there.
ZM: Can you give me a quick rundown of the schools that are looking at you right now, what are the offers?
ZC: Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Baylor, TCU, San Diego State, Creighton, Texas Tech, Michigan. I have North Carolina interest.
ZM: What would make a school the dream school for you?
ZC: Good education, my family’s big on that. If I get hurt or something, I’ll have something to fall back on. A good staff, good community and a good basketball coach.
ZM: Do you have any frontrunners right now that you’re leaning toward?
ZC: They’re all up there. I haven’t really taken any official visits so it’s kind of hard to pick.
ZM: Going real quick back to your childhood, you said you had to take things into your own hands to go away from the traditional back-to-the-basket type of player, so what specifically were you doing maybe on your own time that set you apart from everyone else?
ZC: I don’t know, I think it was always meant to be ‘cause I’ve always been quick, I’ve always been faster and it’s just kind of like, I have a great touch. It’s just something about it that made me want to move out (of the paint).
ZM: What else do you bring to the team outside of what goes in the box score?
ZC: Just a great teammate, I’ve had a bunch of discussions with a bunch of my teammates off and on the court and stuff like that. I think that’s really important, too.
Thanks again to Zach Clemence for taking the time to chat with us!
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