From March Madness to Masters

From MARCH MADNESS ....................

BASKETBALL ODYSSEY: FORMER ST. PETER’S STAR GUIDES BOYS VARSITY PROGRAM

The chance to play college basketball was life-changing for Keydren Clark.

Clark, who has coached the varsity boys basketball team at The Masters School since 2020, blossomed like a vibrant spring tulip when he ventured in 2002 to Jersey City to attend Saint Peter’s College.

“Getting a college scholarship and going to school for free was everything,” said Clark, who honed his skills as a child at the Alexander Hamilton Playground courts in Harlem. “I was the first in my family to do so — to get a free ride and have an opportunity to play a Division I sport. Reflecting on it, it was the best time of my life. I met some great people and made some great friends. It enabled me to want more for myself.”

Clark maximized his talents at Saint Peter’s, morphing from an undersized and under-recruited New York City point guard into a bona fide superstar on the national stage.

The 5-foot-11 Clark took college basketball by storm, utilizing his deft sharpshooting abilities to twice lead NCAA Division I in scoring. He graduated from Saint Peter’s in 2006 as the sixth all-time leading scorer in Division I history and is currently ninth on the list — two spots ahead of NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.

“If you put in the hard work and are determined, you can maximize your ability and go on to do things even when people doubt you,” said Clark, who attended a few of the Peacocks’ NCAA tournament games during this past March’s historic run to the Elite Eight.

Clark, however, wasn’t satisfied with just being a legendary college player. Determined to see just how far he could take his passion for basketball, Clark went overseas and competed professionally for 13 years.

“I was playing in countries — Turkey, Russia, Italy, Greece, France and China — that I never thought I’d even go to, especially as an inner city kid," he said. “All these wonderful places that I read about in books, I was able to go there and live and experience the culture. And this was all because I was able to put a basketball in the hoop.”

Under different circumstances and in a different time, there’s a good chance Clark would have gotten a real shot with an NBA team. When he came out of college, shoot-first point guards were uncommon. It was unsettling to the basketball establishment to see a confident kid routinely sinking deep 3-pointers as if they were layups. This, of course, was not lost on Clark, who competed at the NBA pre-draft camp following college and was ranked as the 13th-best player.

“I was born too early,” he said with a slight chuckle. “The shots that I was taking back then weren’t accepted. Sometimes, I think if I were playing now — and I believe this in my heart — that I’d be an NBA player. But that’s just how things go. I still carved out a beautiful career for myself, so there are no hard feelings. I just laugh at how the game has changed and my shots were bad shots then and now they are the shots that everyone takes.”

Clark was tipped off about the Masters’ coaching opening via a family friend and has since transitioned from the role of superstar player to trusted coach and mentor for the School’s varsity basketball players.

“I share my story with Masters students to let them know,” Clark said. “As a kid, I was just like them. I didn’t know a lot. I knew I could play and had a great outside shot, but that was it. I was kind of limited, but I showed up every day and believed in myself.”

Clark has focused on helping the Panthers improve by challenging them day in and day out at practices and in games.

“The most important thing for them is playing against better talent, so they can look themselves in the mirror and see they actually need to work,” Clark said. “They have so much access to everything, so there’s no reason for them to not improve — if they truly want to play this sport. That’s what I stress to them.”

For Clark, the love of basketball has always been a constant. Saint Peter’s nourished that passion and forever transformed his life.

“I look back at it and think that college was the best thing that could’ve happened to me,” Clark said. “It opened my eyes to so much more in the world that I was blind to because of where I came from. Basketball, to me, was everything. It was my way out to a better life. I’m thankful to my mom and dad for putting a basketball in my hands. The rest is history.”

KEYDREN CLARK

.................... to MASTERS

WALKING THE WALK AT KANSAS AND NOW 49 CLINTON

As a walk-on for the University of Kansas men’s basketball team in the early ’90s, Brandon Sanders experienced the pinnacle of college athletics.

“Basketball at KU was like a fraternity,” said Sanders, who joined Masters this year as a counselor in the Upper School and thoroughly enjoyed watching the Jayhawks win this year’s NCAA Division I championship. “We always said we were a family. Even now, those guys, if I call them, they treat me like family.”

That KU basketball family filled up virtually all of Sanders’ time outside of classes.

“At 3:30 p.m., I’d be done with classes, and at 4:00 p.m. I was in the gym,” he said. "I got up every morning at 5:30 a.m., and I’d be working out in Allen Fieldhouse. It taught me a lot of discipline and dedication.”

Word of Sanders’ intense devotion to his craft got around. His teammates, including Rex Walters, a first-round NBA draft pick who played for the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Miami Heat from 1993 to 2000, soon came calling — literally.

“I’d always get phone calls from Rex Walters and Steve Woodberry, another close friend of mine,” Sanders said. “They would say, ‘Hey, let’s go shoot.’ That stayed with me.”

Sanders, who dubbed his primary role at Kansas as a “practice player,” was brought up to the varsity squad in 1991 and remained until he graduated in 1994. His headline-grabbing teammates didn’t always love the practice battles. A physically gifted point guard who prided himself on smothering defense, Sanders relished those moments despite not getting much live-game action.

“At that time, my best attribute was my defense,” he said. “Adonis Jordan [a 1993 NBA draft pick by the Seattle SuperSonics] hated playing me in practice. Rex Walters did also. They used to say I was too rough.”

A native of Los Angeles, Sanders grew up attending Kansas’ basketball camp in the summer when he visited his grandmother, who lived near the school. He started out his college career at Mt. San Antonio College before transferring to Kansas. He graduated from the university with a master’s degree in social work before setting out on his own.

His Hollywood-esque path as a walk-on gave him a unique view of college athletics that few get the opportunity to witness.

“If you are trying to play college basketball, you have to have a balance between sports and academics,” he said. “Four years go by fast. Make the most of those four years and have something to fall back on. For me, after I left Kansas, I got into other things like music and tennis. At the end of eligibility, you have to let it go.”

A talented jazz drummer, Sanders went on to earn a degree in music studies from Berklee College of Music. His resume also includes roles at Legacy College Preparatory High School as a social worker, New York City Department of Education as a dean and social worker, and KIPP Academy as a music teacher.

At Masters, Sanders has been afforded a chance to spread his wings and contribute in many different facets of school life.

“The experience has been great and Masters is a great school,” he said. “It’s a school that allows me to use the skills that I have to work with kids via counseling, coaching basketball, tennis and music. I’m very appreciative and grateful for the opportunity.”

The sport of basketball, however, will always occupy the largest space in his heart.

“Basketball is in my blood,” Sanders said. “That’s my go-to as far as building confidence and self-esteem. That’s my first love.”

And he took that love further than most anyone could have imagined.

BRANDON SANDERS