Milena Clarke '17 Recruiting Profile

UPDATE (Aug. 11, 2016): This afternoon, CoachHemi.com published a feature article about me on his Girls High School Basketball Scouting Page, entitled, "Class of 2017 [3 Star] wing Milena Clarke of Ashland, KY, is a talent on and off the court" http://coachhemi.com/coachhemi-player-card-milena-clarke/  Once the article appeared on Twitter, South Central Ohio 50 (@ohio50), a regional scouting service, commenting on the article, "Girl can flat out shoot," to which Prospects Nation's Chris Hansen (@CoachHansenPSB) replied, "I second that! Saw it with my own eyes!" Earlier in the week, I accepted Brandon Clay's invitation to attend the EBA All-American Camp on September 3-4 at the Elite Basketball Academy.

UPDATE: In June, I completed a strong Summer Showcase sponsored by Prospects Nation,  PSB and #CoachHemi.Com--link to my Showcase Evaluation: https://prospectsnation.com/player/milena-clarke#camp-evaluations [with an addendum from Prospects Nation/PSB's Chris Hanson: "Kid shot lights out on Sunday. If the closeout was even half a second late it was bottom of the net."

UPDATE: I had an outstanding experience/performance at the 3-day UNC Elite College Prep Camp June 3-5, 2016, successfully playing the 2, 3 and 4 positions during games in the “UNC League,” and although there was no All-Star team named, I did represent my league in the only two camp-wide competitions (both held on Sunday afternoon's championship day)--after I had earlier won both the "one-on-one” and “knockout" competitions. While the entire camp experience was great, the part I loved best was being able to play with and compete against some of the quickest, most athletic and talented basketball players I have ever faced. Fantastic event!

UPDATE: At the end of the high school tennis season, I was named to the ADI "All Area" Tennis Team (first team). [The team, is voted on by high school tennis coaches in the 15th and 16th Regions--schools within a 20 county radius in Kentucky, and this year was by far the most competitive season in high school tennis history in our region, with 6 All-Area players also being named first-team All-State.]

UPDATE: After a six (6) year hiatus from tennis (I last picked up a racquet at my final high school match of the 5th grade, when I earned my second straight high school varsity letter in tennis), I decided to play for my high school team this spring to stay in shape for the upcoming exposure camps. I was paired with a very good doubles partner and we went 14-3 in the regular season and finished 2nd in our conference (losing to the conference champion in a "super tiebreaker" after (4-6, 6-1 matches) and are seeded 3rd for the 16th Region Tournament. On May 5th, my partner and I defeated our opening round opponent in the 16th Regional Tournament (6-1, 6-0). [Aside from my observation that the tennis court appears much smaller than it did when I was 11, I noticed that a number of skill sets used to excel in tennis transfer well over to basketball, such as improved footwork, quickness (including a much quicker first step and easier sliding for better defense), recognition of angles and court vision (boxing out for rebounds and improved interior passing) and eye-hand coordination.

ADDITIONAL UPDATE: I have accepted an invitation to play in the first  #CoachHemiShowcase to be held in Ashland, KY on June 18-19.

ANOTHER ADDITIONAL UPDATE:  I was named to the 63rd District All-Tournament Team at the conclusion of our District Tournament.

I have a number of collegiate and life goals that I believe set me apart from those of a typical high school or year-around basketball player looking to play at the next level. I have been very blessed to be adopted into my wonderful Kentucky family from my hometown of Almaty, Kazakhstan when I was 18 months old. [NOTE:  While I harbor no ill will for anyone who enjoyed watching the movie ”Boraдt,” I would like to mention the obvious—Boraдt was a parody of the former Soviet republics, and Kazakhstan is nothing like the backward, incestuous and ignorant country portrayed in the movie.] My parents have always encouraged me to excel both academically and athletically, while always ensuring that I remember with pride that I am an ethnic Kazakh (an ethnic group of shared Turkish and Mongolian ancestry dating back many centuries). My papa has used his contacts as an environmental attorney, graduate professor and Human Rights Commissioner to keep me very connected to my Kazakh culture and heritage, and our family has literally hundreds of ethnic Kazakh friends all over the world. Because of my Kazakh clan ancestry, I have more Turkish attributes than Mongolian, having descended from the Naiman tribe and Middle Horde, and as such I am descended from a warrior tribe—the Naimans--that valued justice and fairness--traits, along with an appreciation for diversity, that I continue to value and promote in today's modern world, to the extent I can in my tiny corner of the world. I currently have dual Kazakhstan-American citizenship and I am bilingual (Russian and English), though I hope to become trilingual soon as I am now studying Mandarin Chinese. I try very hard to improve my foreign language skills, along with other life skills, so that after I finish academic life, I will possess the tools that will allow me to help other Third World countries and at-risk cultures reach their highest potential and thrive in the global community.

I also have an incredible work ethic, both on and off the court—a trait my coaches assure me will serve me well in any basketball system because of my added traits of athleticism and versatility. I played tennis from age 3 (and began playing competitively at age 6) and earned high school varsity letters in both the 4th and 5th grades through playing on the high school varsity tennis team. I was ranked as high as 5th in Kentucky before switching to basketball—which I only began playing in the 6th grade. After my first season of basketball, I was asked to try out for and was chosen to play for the D-1 Greyhounds, one of the better AAU teams in our region.

After improving rapidly in basketball, my teammates at a school with little diversity of any kind, began harassing me based on the African-American friends I made through playing AAU basketball, my Asian features and my use of the Russian language. The harassment grew so bad that a civil rights group (AALDEF) interceded on my behalf and eventually filed formal complaints with the U. S. Departments of Justice and Education. Although the pain of the experience was emotionally difficult for me at the time, I received much support, including a video chat with Jeremy Lin, which helped me use that experience to motivate me to become a better basketball player. I also became even more connected to my Kazakh culture after receiving hundreds of messages of support from fellow Kazakhs around the world. Though the administrative process was nearly as difficult as the harassment itself, I persevered so that minorities who might attend that particular school in the future would not suffer the same harassment I faced because AALDEF assured me that the school system would be forced by the U.S. Department of Education to address the lack of any written or unwritten policy that allowed my situation to persist without intervention. Over a year after formal complaints were filed, the school system, as AALDEF predicted, was made to sign a resolution agreement that required a wide array of policies and initiatives to be adopted and enforced vigorously. In the end I was very pleased that I chose to stand up to the wrongdoing and played a role that will better serve minorities attending the school system in the future—since the school system now has in place an avenue to address bullying and harassment issues. After researching the effects bullying and harassment can have on some students, I decided to become an anti-bullying advocate and have helped AALDEF in its anti-bullying/harassment programs. After transferring to a new school (East Carter High School) at the request of the U.S. Department of Education, I was united with two players from my Division I state championship AAU team (the Kentucky Diamonds) where I have been accepted for who I am and my diversity celebrated, not ridiculed, by nearly every coach, teacher, staff member, all of my basketball teammates and nearly the entire student population at the school.

I work very hard every day, both on improving my basketball skills (including working with a strength and endurance trainer and shooting and ball handling coaches) after scheduled school conditioning sessions and basketball practices, while working to "learn", not just memorize, the material taught in my high school courses. I am the only student in my school's history who has been allowed to take on-line, independent-study courses through a university and who was allowed as a freshman to take junior- and senior-level academic courses.

I have primarily played at the 4 and 5 positions in both school and travel basketball, but typically I am made to play the 5 if there is a particularly talented or strong post player on the opposing team, though I am free to bring the ball up the court and take shots, not just inside the post, but at mid-range and beyond the 3 point line. Though I have been working with excellent ball-handling and outside shooting trainers for some time, I have always been made to play the 4 or 5 positions because of my size and strength—and I will gladly play any position my coach feels will most benefit my team. However in the last two months, I was able to play the 2 and 3 positions exclusively in two events: (1) Brown University’s “Invitational Elite Camp” where I led my assigned camp team (for which I started every game at the 2 or 3 position) to the round-robin camp championship, and (2) The “2nd Annual High Exposure/Blue Chip Fall Showcase” where I again led my team to the Showcase championship, playing exclusively at the 2 and 3 positions, and also making the “All Tournament Team” and an overall ranking as 6th best player at the event (as a guard).

I am certain that my unique cultural and life experiences, along with my strong work ethic and my commitment to academic excellence, sets me apart from the typical high school athlete trying to make it to the next level. I am also certain that my strong belief that I will never be out-worked on the basketball court or in the classroom, combined with my team-first attitude is a direct result of my ethnic Kazakh heritage and the love and support of both of my parents--who have always taught me that there are consequences, either positive or negative, to every action taken in this world. I know deep in my heart how blessed I am to have been adopted into such a loving and supportive family who has always ensured that I stay close to and take pride in my Kazakh heritage.

Apart from my basketball talent and proven academic success (which I’m sure is present in every college basketball recruit), I believe my many “intangibles” (forged through both adversity and prosperity) will ensure that I am “a good fit” within any coaching philosophy and at any position on any team on which I play in the future.