Boys basketball: With aunt in mind, Lions' McClendon visits old teammates
Feb. 12, 2015
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — Jeffery McClendon's moment is almost here.
Tonight could mark the Eastside star's last high school game. That it comes in a must-win situation against some old friends in Quartz Hill is only fitting.
"Everybody I went to Quartz Hill with, I grew up with," said McClendon, a 6-foot-3 guard who averages 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game. "We all went to elementary school, middle school together."
In trying to fulfill a pledge he made to his beloved aunt Janevia Taylor, a former basketball player at the University of Hawaii who's been in a coma since a 2007 car accident, the Rebel-turned-Lion is almost ready to find a permanent home at the next level.
"I've been playing for her," McClendon said. "I'm trying to finish out her dream."
McClendon's journey has been nomadic. He attended two different middle schools in the AV before moving to Pasadena with his father, Darrell Morris, for his freshman and sophomore years of high school. He then came back to the Valley to play at Quartz Hill for a season before landing at Eastside for his senior year.
Whereas the constant change might have been cause for the typical teenager to cry to the skies in disgruntlement, this has never been the case with McClendon, whose latest school-transfer came after his grandmother decided to move the family to east Lancaster.
"We're a close-knit family," said Joy McClendon, Jeffery's grandmother. "One moves, we all move. He already knows how it is."
For Jeffery, the real difficulties aren't ones that involve putting his belongings in boxes and into a truck. When his 21-year-old aunt was involved in a car crash back in California just weeks after completing her college playing career, he learned the true meaning of the word tragedy.
Taylor, who suffered severe head trauma, has been in a coma since. Jeffery, who doesn't lose hope in her coming out of it, visits her at the local facility where she's cared for every day.
"She was the only one who went to college out of my whole family," Jeffery said. "I'm trying to be the next one."
The guard's quest started in seventh grade, where he played for a championship team at Endeavour Middle School. Two years later, his father asked him to move to Pasadena with him to play for the Bulldogs.
In two seasons there, Jeffery polished his game and was part of two championship teams before it was time to go home again due to family issues.
Joy, who raised Jeffery since very young, was more than happy to welcome him back in Quartz Hill.
"That's my baby," Joy said of Jeffery. "You see me at the game, you're going to hear me say that all game long."
As a junior, Jeffery led the Rebels in scoring at 11.8 points per game and Quartz Hill won a share of the league title. He then had to change schools for the fifth time in six years.
Some of his Rebel teammates weren't pleased.
"I told a couple of them and they got mad for a second, but they calmed down later," Jeffery said.
"It's something I had to do," he added. "My grandma had to move. I couldn't argue with it. I just had to go with the flow."
All the way on the other end of town, people took the news differently.
"It was a pleasant surprise once I saw him and his grandmother registering," Eastside coach Jesse Parker said. "When you get a player as talented as he is, he just fits in.
"He knows the game. He's very unselfish. He's willing to be a team player. He does what you ask him to do and what you need him to do."
Living with his grandma, her husband, and multiple cousins, sharing has never been a problem for Jeffery. Neither has rebelliousness.
"He's a good kid, very obedient, doesn't ask for much," Joy said.
Jeffery and his family hope the fruits of all the sacrifices and hard work will pay off come the fall, when the guard expects to join a new team at the collegiate level. Grades, however, will play a large role in where he ends up.
The Lion has offers from UC Davis and Northern Arizona, but more could be in play depending on how he fares on his ACT and SAT.
Just as when he takes the court, Taylor will be on Jeffery's mind as he takes the exams that will help him continue to carry out her dream.
"If you see me before a game, you'll see me just sitting there, just thinking, thinking about (Taylor)," Jeffery said.
This will be the only high school season in which Jeffery won't win at least a share of a league championship. He could also miss the playoffs for the first time.
To make sure that doesn't happen, the Lions (6-7 Golden League) must beat the Rebels (8-5) on the road tonight and have Antelope Valley (7-6) lose against Highland (12-1). That would give Eastside fourth place in the league and an automatic playoff bid.
Having worn his share of different jerseys over the years, it only seems appropriate that Jeffery must finally topple one he used to defend to keep his high school career alive.
"(Quartz Hill) is the school I came from, where all my friends are at," the senior said. "It's the last game. I hope I get the 'W' up there."
If Jeffery doesn't, life has taught him there are bigger setbacks in it than a defeat, or a change of address. His dreams, and his aunt's, continue beyond tonight at Quartz Hill.
"It doesn't matter how many times I move," Joy said. "Jeffery is still going to be Jeffery. Same personality, same goals in mind. It doesn't matter.
"He's got one thing in mind. It's making it, going to college, playing ball."
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press
LANCASTER — Jeffery McClendon's moment is almost here.
Tonight could mark the Eastside star's last high school game. That it comes in a must-win situation against some old friends in Quartz Hill is only fitting.
"Everybody I went to Quartz Hill with, I grew up with," said McClendon, a 6-foot-3 guard who averages 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game. "We all went to elementary school, middle school together."
In trying to fulfill a pledge he made to his beloved aunt Janevia Taylor, a former basketball player at the University of Hawaii who's been in a coma since a 2007 car accident, the Rebel-turned-Lion is almost ready to find a permanent home at the next level.
"I've been playing for her," McClendon said. "I'm trying to finish out her dream."
McClendon's journey has been nomadic. He attended two different middle schools in the AV before moving to Pasadena with his father, Darrell Morris, for his freshman and sophomore years of high school. He then came back to the Valley to play at Quartz Hill for a season before landing at Eastside for his senior year.
Whereas the constant change might have been cause for the typical teenager to cry to the skies in disgruntlement, this has never been the case with McClendon, whose latest school-transfer came after his grandmother decided to move the family to east Lancaster.
"We're a close-knit family," said Joy McClendon, Jeffery's grandmother. "One moves, we all move. He already knows how it is."
For Jeffery, the real difficulties aren't ones that involve putting his belongings in boxes and into a truck. When his 21-year-old aunt was involved in a car crash back in California just weeks after completing her college playing career, he learned the true meaning of the word tragedy.
Taylor, who suffered severe head trauma, has been in a coma since. Jeffery, who doesn't lose hope in her coming out of it, visits her at the local facility where she's cared for every day.
"She was the only one who went to college out of my whole family," Jeffery said. "I'm trying to be the next one."
The guard's quest started in seventh grade, where he played for a championship team at Endeavour Middle School. Two years later, his father asked him to move to Pasadena with him to play for the Bulldogs.
In two seasons there, Jeffery polished his game and was part of two championship teams before it was time to go home again due to family issues.
Joy, who raised Jeffery since very young, was more than happy to welcome him back in Quartz Hill.
"That's my baby," Joy said of Jeffery. "You see me at the game, you're going to hear me say that all game long."
As a junior, Jeffery led the Rebels in scoring at 11.8 points per game and Quartz Hill won a share of the league title. He then had to change schools for the fifth time in six years.
Some of his Rebel teammates weren't pleased.
"I told a couple of them and they got mad for a second, but they calmed down later," Jeffery said.
"It's something I had to do," he added. "My grandma had to move. I couldn't argue with it. I just had to go with the flow."
All the way on the other end of town, people took the news differently.
"It was a pleasant surprise once I saw him and his grandmother registering," Eastside coach Jesse Parker said. "When you get a player as talented as he is, he just fits in.
"He knows the game. He's very unselfish. He's willing to be a team player. He does what you ask him to do and what you need him to do."
Living with his grandma, her husband, and multiple cousins, sharing has never been a problem for Jeffery. Neither has rebelliousness.
"He's a good kid, very obedient, doesn't ask for much," Joy said.
Jeffery and his family hope the fruits of all the sacrifices and hard work will pay off come the fall, when the guard expects to join a new team at the collegiate level. Grades, however, will play a large role in where he ends up.
The Lion has offers from UC Davis and Northern Arizona, but more could be in play depending on how he fares on his ACT and SAT.
Just as when he takes the court, Taylor will be on Jeffery's mind as he takes the exams that will help him continue to carry out her dream.
"If you see me before a game, you'll see me just sitting there, just thinking, thinking about (Taylor)," Jeffery said.
This will be the only high school season in which Jeffery won't win at least a share of a league championship. He could also miss the playoffs for the first time.
To make sure that doesn't happen, the Lions (6-7 Golden League) must beat the Rebels (8-5) on the road tonight and have Antelope Valley (7-6) lose against Highland (12-1). That would give Eastside fourth place in the league and an automatic playoff bid.
Having worn his share of different jerseys over the years, it only seems appropriate that Jeffery must finally topple one he used to defend to keep his high school career alive.
"(Quartz Hill) is the school I came from, where all my friends are at," the senior said. "It's the last game. I hope I get the 'W' up there."
If Jeffery doesn't, life has taught him there are bigger setbacks in it than a defeat, or a change of address. His dreams, and his aunt's, continue beyond tonight at Quartz Hill.
"It doesn't matter how many times I move," Joy said. "Jeffery is still going to be Jeffery. Same personality, same goals in mind. It doesn't matter.
"He's got one thing in mind. It's making it, going to college, playing ball."