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Mount Clemens coach Jermaine Jackson's passion for developing youth has made the boys basketball team one of the most successful programs in the area this season. - (Jared Purcell | japurcell@mlive.com)
The Mount Clemens boys basketball team has been used to success on the court in recent seasons. After winning its fourth Macomb Area Conference Gold title in a row on Friday night with a 91-84 victory against Warren Woods Tower, it goes without saying that nothing has changed in Mt. Clemens' winning ways.
Well, almost nothing.
When Jermaine Jackson took over the head coaching position at Mt. Clemens this year, he inherited a team that had plenty of talent and grit to continue the dynasty that the program had been building. Most coaches would have a hard time waiting to get on the court and start creating some chemistry.
But for Jackson, he decided to start building chemistry before practice even started.
?The first two weeks before practice, we didn?t train, we didn?t pick up a basketball, we didn?t do anything,? Jackson said. ?I got to know them. I built a relationship with them. No basketball. No anything. I built a relationship with every kid.?
Jackson was not kidding around either. Making an effort to get to know the parents of each player, the brothers and sister ? even the girlfriends ? Jackson wanted his players to know that he was going to do everything in his power to make his team feel like a family. Heck, he even had dinners with some of the families.
Luckily for Jackson, his efforts proved to be fruitful.
?We?re with each other 24-7,? Mt. Clemens sophomore Josh McFolley said. ?We are basically a family, we are like brothers ? We?ve got to learn everybody.?
The tighter the team got off of the court, the tighter it got in games and in practices. As that happened the win began to snowball and now Mt. Clemens sees itself with a 17-1 record with its only loss coming by three points in double overtime to New Haven.
Not bad for chemistry, right?
Jackson, who has a history of mentoring area youth though his own Jermaine Jackson Community Center in Mt. Clemens, he believes that the best can be drawn out of any player if they are placed in the right type of environment. The best way Jackson knows how to create a nurturing environment is by using his strong faith as a guide.
?God got me through,? Jackson said. ?I tell the guys all of the time that it is all God, it?s not us. It?s all God giving us the ability, the strength, the conditioning and the focus and love that we have for each other.?
Maybe Jackson can coin the term ?a team that prays together, wins together.? Plus, it also helps that Jackson knows a thing or two about basketball.
As a former point-guard at University of Detroit Mercy, Jackson also spent some time playing professionally in the NBA and overseas. With his abundant amount of skill and knowledge, combined with his full-throttle attitude, it is no wonder that Mt. Clemens is experiencing one of its greatest seasons ever at this point.
However, Jackson will be the first to remind his players that the season is far from over and that there is plenty of work still to do. For Mt. Clemens, it is all or nothing. That is why the Battling Bathers will celebrate its fourth-straight MAC Gold title by heading back to school and holding a practice right after the game.
?We just won but the guys know that we are going to go back to the school and practice tonight,? Jackson said. ?We?ve got a lot of missed assignments, we weren?t in help-side defense. (Tower) scored 84 points on us. Not to say they can?t score, but we pride ourselves on defense.?
Actually, with the way Jackson has been running the ship so far in his first year, Mt. Clemens can pride itself on everything.
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