Jim Cleamons

  Jim Cleamons has achieved on many planes, at many levels. Many know of him as a basketball star for Ohio State University and the Los Angeles Lakers and as an NBA basketball head coach and assistant coach. However, Jim is also a Rhodes Scholar and possesses a degree in education that complements his desire and focus to improve the lives of children and youth.

Jim was a celebrated first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers and has played with Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Gail Goodrich, Jim McMillan, Happy Harrison, Pat Riley, and Elgin Baylor.  The opportunity to have played and learned from the best further fueled Jim’s ambitions to teach the sport of basketball.  This desire has extended outside of the NBA. Working with his colleagues Granville Waiters, Fred Saunders, Jerry Saunders, and Clark Kellogg, Jim developed a 4 day MVP basketball camp for youth in Columbus, Ohio.  The camp focuses on teaching the basic fundamentals of basketball as they pertain to each position; thereby providing each child with the proper tools to play the game.  In designing the camp, the coaches agreed to donate their time to 50 - 60 kids at a time. Their desire was to maintain intimate sessions to ensure quality instruction. This strategy maximizes the benefit each child receives, provides the coaches an opportunity to serve as true mentors, and allows the passion each coach has to improve the lives of children, to be fully manifest. Additionally, the emphasis on “old school” philosophies provides a strong grounding that translates both on the basketball court and in life.      

Cheryl Cleamons, Jim’s wife, is also committed to improving the lives of children and youth. Cheryl created “Building A Champion”, a video series for youth ages 9 to 16, that teaches the fundamentals of basket ball. This unique series of basketball coaching DVD/videos, featuring Phil Jackson, Jim Cleamons and Tex Winters, the Los Angeles Lakers coaching staff, provides hours of high-quality basketball training, which not only improve a child's game, but also helps to improve their outlook and motivation in daily life routines.  The 3-disc series is incredibly powerful and can be obtained online at:  www.bac-video.com.

During his tenure as Lakers Assistant Coach, Jim Cleamons became cognizant of the poor performance of some South Los Angeles schools. Of primary concern was the poor academic performance of middle and high school students within the community compared to similar student within the state and across the nation. As his concern peaked, Jim was approached by his friend Ken Delpit of Samaritan Innovative Science Foundation. Jim had previously planned to host a basketball camp organized by Ken. However, their discussions in planning the camps continued to revert back to academic underperformance. Ironically, Ken had similar concerns with children and youth in North Las Vegas. Given the focus of their concerns, Jim and Ken realized that the camp would have to be different. It would have to positively and significantly impact education as well as personal development and improvement of basketball skills. As such, they asked George Weaver to work with them in designing an innovative program. George had successfully designed innovative sports and education programs in San Diego and Los Angeles. His programs were celebrated for dramatically improving the academic proficiency of underperforming students while simultaneously building strong character skills. The partnership of Jim, Ken, and George proved to be a perfect compliment to each individual’s independent efforts. Each had always had the passion and goal to educate and teach a better learned behavior for youth so they can have a better outlook on life.  Each had something significant to offer that, when taken together, promised an incredible experience for kids. Jim’s plan for this camp is for the kids that participate to have fun and grow as the camp grows as a premier clinic and educational camp. He desires to make this event an enjoyable experience for young people so that they can learn more about education, basketball, and life.  Jim’s goals are to educate, train the mind and develop the soul.

We Need Your Help. The experiences each participant will have at this camp will positively impact them for the rest of their lives. Given the power of this event, it is essential that this effort continues and expands. For this reason, we are looking for other individuals that share our vision, believe in our mission, realize our ability to achieve it, and desire to give to a worthy and just cause for the community.  Jim does not believe in the words “giving back”, he believes in “giving forward” so that every youth has the proper education to develop the mind, body and soul. DADA Footwear was one of the first vendors to partner with Jim and they have enhanced the project tremendously.  Other organizations have come on board as well, which has helped us ensure the success of this camp. However, we would like to ensure the success of our communities by being able to continuously offer the variety of opportunities being introduced at this camp.

  Jim credits his success to the Lord. He loves what he is doing and he prays for the success of this basketball clinic and educational camp, so that it becomes a staple in the community, stretching as far as the community and corporate, governmental, and community-based organizations that serve it, allow it to go. “My whole goal is to help the body, mind and the spirit.  When you connect these three components it makes for a successful person.” - Jim Cleamons

The True Measure

of a Man

 Jim Cleamons, former Los Angeles Lakers 1st round draft pick, recipient of eight NBA title rings, Ohio State University Scholar Athlete of the Year, Big 10 Academic All-American, and Big-10 All-American shared about being "grateful', having good "relationships", and living life with "purpose” at a luncheon in Texas:

Cleamons said how important it is to be grateful.  The coach must know his Latin, because he said the word "grateful" comes from the Latin word for "grace."  He reminded us that we all have a lot for which to be grateful.  As such, we should show more graciousness toward others. 

Cleamons talked about the importance of relationships and the audience sensed how important relationships were to him.  He spoke of his family and mentioned special relationships he has enjoyed during his career such as being known as "A coach of Michael Jordan."  Cleamons exemplifies a man who lives life with purpose.  The audience sensed it in the intensity of what he shared and how he shared it. Purpose, he said, adds direction to life and keeps us moving on a path of personal enjoyment and success. Then Coach Jim Cleamons shared the following:

"Four Enemies of Man"

1.  Fear

"While fear is a natural enemy of man -- we can make it an ally,"  Cleamons said.  He pointed out that "fear keeps us from trying and robs us of future success."  The fear can be because of past experience or uncertain expectations about the future.  Growing up in North Carolina, Cleamons saw small animals sometimes "freeze" in their tracks at night when they saw oncoming car lights.  The result -- many dead animals.  "Don't freeze when the lights hit your eyes," he said.  Fear should be a force that generates positive action on our part!

2.  Lack of Clarity

Here, the coach told us to "stay focused -- maintain your attention."  This ties in to the need to maintain our vision -- to be clear on our direction.  I liked his closing thought on the need to stay focused.  "Don't tell me how rough the waters are, just bring the ship in safely," he said.  "To not get lost, we have to know where we are... Don't rest on the plains of hesitation."  At Baylor, our own leaders faced this challenge.

3.  Power

It's interesting that a head coach in the NBA highlights the danger of power as "an enemy of man." Cleamons said, "Use power to encourage others.  Don't worry about who gets the credit."  Power is important, he said. "The effective use of power makes it more meaningful."

4.    Time

"Time is an enemy because there's "not enough for any of us," Cleamons said.  There's so much to accomplish and seemingly not enough time to deal with all the issues.  "Use your time to gain knowledge and then turn your knowledge into wisdom," he said.  Good uses of time include taking time to play, pray, laugh and give.  That's good advice from a good man!