THE TOUGH ROAD
Clark embraces hard times, strong single mother for making him Storm leader
THE way Marvin Clark II sees it, everyone has a story. Some had it worse than him, others better. His included his father’s early death and a stepfather’s arrest for dealing drugs, domestic violence seen up close, ratty homeless shelters, basketball mentors who helped create a life for him, and his relentlessly positive attitude that refused to be broken despite hardships. Clark doesn’t consider himself, or what he has gone through, special or unique. It’s his story — one of perseverance, determination, and several chapters that remain to be written. “I look back on it, and it’s crazy to say it, but I wouldn’t change it for the world,” he told The Post in a sit-down interview. “It’s made me who I am, and it’s helped me get to where I want to be.” That would be as the first member of his familyy to ggo to college, g where he is hoping to make a better life for himself. The 6-foot-7, 230-pound junior fo r ward is at St . John’s — after sitting out last year following his transfer from Big Ten powerhouse Michigan State — being counted on to lead a Red Storm resurgence in coach Chris Mullin’s third season.
EARLY on, his life was f l i pped sideways. His father, Marvin Clark Sr., died of a heart attack when Clark was 3 years old. He didn’t understand he was gone. At the open-casket funeral, he tried to wake up his dad up and lie next to him.
Four years later, his stepfather, Ralph Miller, was arrested for dealing drugs. Their front door was kicked down by the police. Then life really went wrong growing up on the dangerous east side of Kansas City, Mo. Possessions were seized after Miller’s arrest, money became scarce. His mother, Donette Collins-Miller, entered into a series of unhealthy relationshipsp and was beaten up in front of her children on multipmultiple occasions. Once, Clark found her hurt so babadly she couldn’t move and had bruiseses all oveover her face.
“Me aand my brothers cried together because we couldn’t really do anything about it,” he said. “I have very vivid memoriesries of ththat.”
The fafamily went from home to home, spending significant time at homeless and domesticdomestic-violence shelters. The first shelterter came when Clark was in first grade, and the last dduring his sophomore year of high school. Sometimes they would be withoutout runnrunning water or electricity. He had to switch scschools frequently. Clark, the oldest of five sisiblings, was forced to grow up fast, cooking meals and doing laundry for his brothers and sisters. He didn’t fault his mom, who suffsuffers from Lupus. She did the best she could. ThereT was always food for them to eat anand clothes to wear. “TThat’s my inspiration, that’s my heaheart,” he said. “[She’s] why I’m as strstrong as I am.”
Through it all, Clark ra re ly wavered. He wouldn’t complain about his situation or look for help. HHe didn’t take the easy way out, fall in with the local gangs or run into trotrouble with police. He credited his motmother and his uncle, father-figure Daniel Collins, for that. “A kid in that environment from that backgroubackground, there’s usually something that can trigger them,” said Bertrand “Buzzy” Caruthers, his AAU coach and mentor. “There’s usually an anger or resentment and he didn’t have that. He made the best of his situations, whatever he was in.”
Sports were his outlet, and sports led to his break. Through a close friend, Clark met Caruthers, who changed his life. The summer before his junior year of high school, Caruthers brought him to the AAU team his brother-in-law Matt Suther had founded, Nike-sponsored MoKan Elite, and was immediately struck by Clark’s positive attitude and coachability. They saw potential in his well-built frame and raw talent, taking him under their wing, driving him to games and practices.
They placed him at Blue Springs (Mo.) High School, and later prep school Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan., giving him the stability his life had lacked. There, Clark developed into a prime recruit, a top150 prospect, and committed to Michigan State. At times, he wanted to go home to help his family, but Suther, Caruthers and his mother wouldn’t let him. He was on the right path.
“Luckily, I had great men in my life,” Clark said.
“He might not have made it if he just stayed home,” Collins-Miller said in the documentary “I Am Marvin Clark.” She told him: “What you’re going to gain and get from this, it’s going to be positive for all of us.”
ST. JOHN’S is counting on Clark to make an immediate impact, to help improve three weaknesses: rebounding, defense and inside scoring. The Red Storm need him to turn those flashes of potential he displayed in two years of spot duty at Michigan State into consistent production. Mullin has talked him up since the end of last year by saying, in a variety of different ways, that he possesses a skill set they simply didn’t have on the roster, a sculpted and skilled forward capable of making plays at both ends of the floor — banging in the paint and scoring in the post.
But his true value likely won’t be measured in points scored or rebounds secured. When St. John’s recruited Clark, assistant coach Matt Abdelmassih emphasized the role the program saw him providing: leadership. Abdelmassih had recruited him while at Iowa State, and was familiar with his story. He saw Clark as someone who would demand instant respect, who would call out teammates if enough effort wasn’t being put forth, to get the best out of them. It made Clark want to come to Queens.
“I just felt like it was the perfect setup,” he said.
He displayed some leadership qualities last year, but only in small doses. He could only do so much from the sideline, forced to sit a year as transfer. The Red Storm have noticed a difference already, how much Clark will harp on jumping out early, after seeing so many early deficits lead to defeats a year ago. “It’s hard to win that way,” Clark said. “He is the voice,” junior Tariq Owens said. “When he talks, guys listen to him.”
Teammates have described him, at 23, as an older brother, having played at the level — two NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four — they all want to reach. Clark doesn’t make a habit of getting in anyone’s face. A good leader, he said, understands everyone needs to be treated differently. Tough love works on some, quiet counseling works on others.
Owens credited Clark with trying to create an atmosphere of accountability, where the Johnnies don’t have to rely on Mullin to crack the whip. They can police themselves. That wasn’t necessarily the case a year ago, several admitted.
“When I think of leadership, I think of somebody that’s completely unselfish, that’s concerned about the unit as a whole and not themselves,” Clark said. “Leadership runs deep in me. I have five siblings, a single mom, and they all depend on me, and look up to me. I carry that same mentality I take on with my family onto my teammates.”
The role is something he wanted when he decided to leave Michigan State. He enjoyed his two years there, and learned a lot about leadership from Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo and players such as Denzel Valentine and Gary Harris. Clark set a Michigan State freshman record by appearing in 39 games, playing significant minutes for a Final Four team. A broken foot set him back as a sophomore, but he improved as the year progressed, working his way into the rotation. The following season, however, was full of uncertainty. Michigan State was heavily in the mix for elite recruit Josh Jackson, and was adding impact freshmen forwards Miles Bridges and Nick Ward.
The way it all worked out, Clark would have played a big role for the Spartans last year. They lost Jackson to Kansas. Forwards Gavin Schilling and Ben Carter didn’t play at all due to injury. It crossed his mind a lot early in his time at St. John’s, and he admittedly missed East Lansing. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he made the right choice. He was needed in Queens.
“I didn’t want to bet on anyone else,” he said. “I would be betting on circumstances to happen, instead of going somewhere I feel like I’m the circumstances. It rides on my back. I can live with myself better if I was to fail knowing I bet on myself rather than relying on the circumstances to happen.”
Clark has shown some rust so far, making just 1-of-11 3-point attempts in exhibition games against Division II American International and Rutgers. He did have 12 points and 14 rebounds against American International, and 16 points in a closed-door scrimmage with Hofstra, but managed only four points and five rebounds against Rutgers. In time, the shots will fall, and he will find his legs. St. John’s is certain of it.
“I think he’s really primed and ready to go,” Mullin said. “I can see him playing a lot of different roles for us.” FAMILY MATTERS: St. John’s junior Marvin Clark II credits his mother, Donette Collins-Miller (far left), for making him the man he is despite growing up in and out of shelters. Clark’s father died when he was 3, and his stepfather Ralph Miller (near left, with brothers Raaheem Miller and Darius Miller) was jailed four years later.
THESE days, life is good for Marvin Clark II. His mother is doing better and, with his two younger sisters, recently moved to Odessa, Mo., where her grandparents own land. He’s living in one of the biggest cities in the world, playing for its flagship college basketball program. He would like to play professionally after St. John’s, and set up his family, giving them the things they never could have growing up.
“He is a poster child of what is right in college basketball,” Abdelmassih said. “He doesn’t take anything for granted, and that’s rare for kids these days. He’s a kid you cheer for.”
For now, he’s focused on the present, leading the Red Storm back to relevance and getting his degree in sports management. But he also won’t forget what it took to get him to this point, all the trying times. He will think about it in difficult situations on the court. That’s not real pressure.
“There’s nothing basketball-wise,” Clark said, “that comes close to what I’ve been through.”