Jordan Presses On

Ron Bailey, Publisher

August 30, 2007 – Two years ago, present Good Counsel High School (MD) senior forward Jordan Clarke faced a life-altering challenge: Competing at the Junior Olympics championships in Orlando, FL, everyone in the gym heard a loud, distinct, cracking sound, a noise that could only portend trouble.

Their initial assessment was correct, as Jordan’s leg was broken. Actually to simply relay the accident as a break is an understatement, as the injury severed his patella tendon in the right leg, and would eventually result in two inches being lost in that limb’s quadriceps muscle, as well as a staple being deployed in the limb.

According to Vaughan Clarke, Jordan’s dad, the freakish accident occurred even though “Nobody touched him”, and was attributable to Osgood Slaughter Disease. This ailment, a condition brought about in part by hyper-growth in the legs (Jordan grew four inches around the age of 15), weakened the bone in the young guy’s leg, creating conditions leading to the horrific occurrence.

Such an injury would be catastrophic for anyone to endure, but when you are a talented high school basketball player beginning to make a name for himself nationally, the severity and consequences of this setback take on outsized proportions.

Clarke who went through a hyper-growth spurt at 15, shared he has played basketball "since 2nd grade", and "I played guard early on". That would help explain his multi-positional ability. (picture supplied by V. Clarke)

“It was tough” recalled Jordan of his initial feelings after the break. “At first, I didn’t know if it would be the (end of his) season and if it would heal correctly”.

Eventually those doubts were purged, as Clarke shared “I came to the conclusion I couldn’t do anything about that”. He did understand that with hard work, a bad situation could be altered. And work he did.

With the support of Vaughan, who according to Jordan “was always there” and his mother Shawne, a loving mother that Jordan indicated early on “even had to bathe me”, the young guy began a grueling rehabilitation effort. After the surgery, regular consultations with physician George Brach – an ATP (professional tennis ) tour doctor – along with rehab sessions conducted by Ed Lee, a doctor well versed in such mammoth physical recovery projects occurred. Also key in the mix were the training sessions performed with trainer Brandon Broadnax.

According to the elder Clarke, many days the young guy’s schedule consisted of seeing doctors in Alexandria, VA, performing rehab in Silver Spring, attending classes at Good Counsel’s Wheaton campus, and training on his own or with his high school mates.

That prodigious work ethic has provided dividends, prompting Jordan to state “It’s all coming together now”, a statement generated not only by his 16 point, 10 rebound averages for Good Counsel last season – and produced in large part in the uber-competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference – but a very successful spring/summer as well: Good Counsel only lost around five games during that period, while Clarke has generated much scholarship interest playing for a number of AAU teams.

Though always partial to the Maryland Crusaders, a program he has played with for the last five years, based upon his injury and subsequent need to prove recuperation, Jordan had to hit the exposure circuit in a major way, hence the other squads in which he played. Those include traveling to Las Vegas with the Bethesda Magic (he spent two years with that team prior to his Crusader involvement) and playing for both the DC Blue Devils and Boo Williams Summer League squads, with which he was able to participate in the Nike sponsored Memorial Day Classic and Peach Jam tourneys.

Additionally, Clarke performed well at the University of Kentucky’s Elite Camp, making its all star team, a similar event at UVA, where he was voted in the top 20 of participants, and an Eastern Invitational camping experience.