City of Basketball Love

Daniel Hughes (@dan1el_sun)
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Now that Chris Clover knows he has it in him, it’s just a matter of keeping it going.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore guard had a career night last Saturday, exploding for a new personal best 21 points as Saint Joseph’s squeaked by rival La Salle 73-72.

Clover’s offensive outburst made the difference in the win, and the Hawks (10-10, 3-5 Atlantic-10) are optimistic that he can build upon his last outing as they look forward to their Tuesday night matchup with Davidson (11-8, 4-4).

So far, Clover has had somewhat of a difficult time at Hawk Hill. The 2015 Catholic League MVP barely saw the court as a freshman, seeing spare time in 20 games his first season, and has been struggling to find consistency in his second year.

Not so easy to do when playing college basketball in your hometown, with all the pressures and expectations that come with it.

However, games like the one Saturday night against the Explorers -- he also chipped in five assists -- prove that the 6-foot-3 Saint Joseph’s Prep graduate still has a lot to offer, and probably has yet to play his best basketball on Hawk Hill.

“It was just my confidence. Each and every game I just got more confident,” Clover said. “Coach [Phil Martelli] didn’t really restrict me from anything, he said just go out there and play, don’t have too many people in your ear. That’s what I’ve been trying to incorporate everyday and it’s been helping me a lot.”

At times this season, Clover has struggled adjusting to more playing time and a bigger role on the team. He started off his sophomore campaign by going scoreless in the season opener against Toledo on November 12. He bounced back with a then-career high 11 points against Columbia, but has since settled into an average of 5.8 points on 22.8 minutes.

That’s still a sizeable bump from his freshman year, when he only scored a grand total of 10 points.

Some players take longer than others to reach their full potential, but it is hard not to compare Clover to his roommate, starting point guard Lamarr Kimble. During their senior year of high school, Clover was awarded Catholic League MVP over Kimble, who starred at Neumann-Goretti.

Kimble played a much bigger role for the Atlantic 10 champion Hawks last season, averaging 6.0 points and 2.5 assists in 18.1 minutes per game. It was enough to win a spot on the conference’s All-Rookie Team. Now one of the team’s three captains along with seniors Javon Baumann and Brendan Casper, the 6-0 sophomore leads all active players with 14.7 points on 36.7 minutes per game.

In the middle of a transition year, St. Joe’s has looked for growth from a talented core of returning players such as juniors Shavar Newkirk and James Demery as well as sophomores like Clover and Kimble.

Clover has so far played in every game this season, and has started every game since Newkirk’s season ended by way of a torn ACL on December 30. Unlike Newkirk, who averaged 20.3 points before his injury, Clover had never approached anything close to 21 points all season.

However to most within the organization, including Kimble, it is not surprising that the Saint Joseph’s Prep product is capable of performances like the one he had on Saturday night.

“He can put points on the board very fast for us,” Kimble said. “I think we just had a few games where his confidence was down, but now you really get to see what he’s doing. Anybody coming into their sophomore year, even with me, your confidence can go up and down.”

Against Davidson, St. Joe’s will have its hands full. The Wildcats’ roster includes two players who score over 20 points a game: 6-0 senior guard Jack Gibbs (22.7 points per game) and 6-8 junior forward Peyton Aldridge (21.2 points per game). Gibbs was named to the A-10 All-Conference first team last season.

Hawks head coach Phil Martelli wants to prevent a shootout situation where the Wildcats would likely prevail. Davidson has scored at least 75 points in 10 of its games this season. Of those games, the Wildcats have won seven.

“We have to come up with a plan that will at least slow them down,” Martelli said. “Because if they come in here and get 80 (points), we’re not going to get 81. We don’t have that in our DNA right now.”

Besides the starting backcourt of Kimble and Clover, St. Joe’s will rely on Demery’s 14.5 points per game as well as freshmen Charlie Brown and Nick Robinson, who contribute 11.6 and 5.0 points per game respectively.

Junior Jai Williams has also played well recently, averaging 5.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in the last three games, including a career-high eight rebounds against La Salle.

As the Hawks look ahead to Davidson, Clover is trying to do what helped him get this far: eliminate distractions and believing in his talent.

According to Martelli, the La Salle game only set the bar higher.

“When he (recognized) need, he stepped up. (He) answered that need,” Martelli said. “Now he’s got to get better. The opportunity’s there and now you either seize it or lose it.”