Coty Clarke's remarkable climb from Israel's second division to the Boston Celtics

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2016/03/coty_clarke_boston_celtics_mai.html



Coty Clarke's remarkable climb from Israel's second division to the Boston Celtics





Boston Celtics player Coty Clarke poses for a headshot during the Boston Celtics media day at their training facility in Waltham, Mass., Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)


Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com




on March 21, 2016 at 6:00 AM, updated March 21, 2016 at 6:07 AM



BOSTON -- At the mention of Coty Clarke's name, some members of the Boston Celtics front office pushed back.

Why him?

Before the season, Boston was looking for a D-League Draymond Green, the type of big man who could shoot threes, exploit mismatches, and defend multiple positions. In the system run by the Celtics and their D-League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, floor-spacing and versatility are critical.

Though the front office had noted Clarke's unique skill set since his days at Arkansas, it took some convincing for everyone to believe he could play that role better than other available players. Why target someone who never cracked 10 points per game during a college season? Why chase a player who started his professional career, just last season, in Israel's second division?

Well, the thing about searching for a player like Green is that even at the D-League level, guys like that -- or even close to it -- are difficult to find. The Celtics knew a couple of reasons why Clarke had been undervalued since his college days.

First: his height, 6-foot-7, which is fine for a wing but short for an NBA stretch power forward. Second: his number of minutes in college, which limited his traditional stats despite powerful per-40-minute averages of 17.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists with 43.1-percent shooting from behind the arc. Ask around the Boston front office now, and you will hear Clarke plays better over short bursts. That contributed to him only averaging 25.9 minutes per game for the Red Claws -- fewer than Malcolm Miller, Levi Randolph and Omari Johnson, among others -- despite nearly leading the league in box score plus-minus (a statistic designed to estimate how many more points per 100 possessions a player contributes offensively and defensively compared to a replacement-level guy).

The debate in the Boston front office led to an examination of statistical databases to show how few available stretch big men possessed Clarke's history of shooting, passing and rebounding. After some discussion, the Celtics ultimately decided to invite Clarke to training camp with the expectation he would play for the Red Claws. Teams are allowed to sign up to four "affiliate players" to their D-League club after waiving them in training camp.

Though Clarke competed in a low-level league the previous year, the feeling was that he would fit well in Maine, and that Red Claws head coach Scott Morrison would know how to highlight the unique forward's strengths while limiting the impact of his weaknesses. For 40 games, Clarke was one of the D-League's most impactful players during his time on the court. Maine outscored opponents by a monster 13.3 points per 100 possessions with him in the lineup.

After creating a roster spot and landing nobody from the underwhelming buyout market, the Celtics extended Clarke his first 10-day contract on March 7. When that expired, he signed another one, sticking for now in the NBA just one year after suiting up for Hapoel Kazrin.

The 23-year-old still doesn't know where he will play in another week, when his second 10-day deal expires, but credits Celtics director of scouting Dave Lewin for his current opportunity. Lewin, who also serves as the Red Claws' general manager, was a huge believer Clarke's skills would fit in Maine's system.

"He found me, watched my tapes," said Clarke. "He gave my former agent a call and was like, 'I like him.' He did his research and homework on me. And I credit it to Dave because without Dave I wouldn't be in the position that I am today. He was looking for somebody who could help Maine, and he came about me. So I appreciate Dave for that -- for coming to find me."

Even with Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko injured, Clarke has only played in three games for Boston, including a short second-quarter stint against the Indiana Pacers -- when he passed up one 3-pointer but drilled the next -- and a garbage-time appearance against the Toronto Raptors. Last week against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he subbed in with a couple of seconds left in the first half to throw an inbounds pass. Though it was intercepted by Russell Westbrook, the Celtics forward has clearly earned the trust of head coach Brad Stevens in those situations. That trust typically doesn't come within a couple of weeks, but remember, Clarke spent most of training camp with Boston. And he used to play quarterback.

As Clarke explains his football career, he played that position in middle school and the beginning of high school until switching to wide receiver for one of his best friends.

"I changed it because my friend at the time, his mom was going to transfer his schools if he didn't play quarterback," Clarke said. "So I just moved to receiver. Just to keep him around. He was one of my closest friends in high school coming up, so yeah, that's what happened with that. But I stopped playing football altogether."

Clarke won't stop playing basketball for a while, but hasn't made it yet. He will need to prove himself over the next week, and over the rest of this season, and then he will need to prove himself again this summer because basketball life is tough for a guy who owns, as one rival front-office figure put it, "a bad body." Still, Clarke has risen to the NBA one year after playing in a low-level professional league. It's incredible, really.

"It's just adversity," he said. "I've been through things in my life. It's about getting over the hump, being mentally tough, not steering the wrong way, and keeping my faith. Praying every night and staying down to myself, and believing in myself. Everything will take its course. You can't rush your time, so I'm just preparing and being the best every day for my kids and my family. And that's all I can do.

"So I wasn't going to rush it. If the time didn't come for me to be here, then I would accept that. But I was going to do everything in my power that I could to get to this stage. So I'm not going to stop right now."



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