Okemos Jasmine Clerkley Chosen as One of Top 48 Basketball Players in 8th Grade in the Nation

Okemos Jasmine Clerkley Chosen as One of 
Top 48 Basketball Players in 8th Grade 
in the Nation

OKEMOS - Jasmine Clerkley is an incredible basketball player, and at 5' 11" she has all the great characteristics of a successful athlete.

Her CCE coach Curtis Zaleski said at her height it's very uncommon, but she could even play as a guard.

"She is a very unique player. She combines size, speed, agility, coordination, and that's something you just don't see out of a big girl," Zaleski said.

The catch? She is 14 years old and only in eighth grade.

"I first saw her and I was like, oh my gosh, that girl is so tall, I hope she's not in our grade," CCE and middle school teammate Leah Zaleski said. "I was like, I was like panicking because she just looked so intimidating. She was good, I remember that day I was like aw she killed us."

Clerkley first started playing basketball when she watched her dad teach her brother and joined in on the family fun.

As she grew up, she joined the YMCA team, then was recruited by Zaleski in the middle of the school year to play for CCE.

Clerkley and her CCE team won the state championship when she was in fourth and fifth grade.

Although Clerkley said she likes hanging out with friends and staying at home watching TV, her comfort zone is the basketball court.

"Basketball is her thing," Jasmine's mother Cheleane Clerkley said. "She loves to play, she goes competitive, she can get a bit goofy here and there, but she has great teammates."

As Jasmine, her family and friends noticed how good she'd become, the rest of the country also noticed.

Jasmine logged into her Twitter account to find a message from a friend showing her a screenshot of the 2016 Elite Girls Basketball National All-American Games roster with Jasmine's name on it.

Her mother had received a letter prior to that, and was very excited to share the news.

"Just to see the lengths that she goes through and her versatility that she's improved on, I'm very in awe," Cheleane said.

Not only is Jasmine a hard worker, who said she understands how much she needs to train and practice to get even better, she is the jokester of the team.

"She's definitely funny, she's just hysterical. We're friends off the court too," Leah Zaleski said. "We've had some pretty good times."

Not only does she joke off the court, but some of her favorite moments happened during games.

"Running down the court and accidentally tripping over my teammate," Jasmine said. "I think we scored off that possession still but kinda chirped over it trying to get the ball."

The All-American games will be played on April 3 at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.

Jasmine was one of 48 eighth graders selected to play, and she is the only player from Michigan.

What's next for Jasmine?

Next basketball season, she will be a part of the Okemos Chiefs varsity team as a freshman in high school.

"I'm kinda excited about the varsity basketball than kinda scared about the high school part," Jasmine said.

Additional Resources

Meridian Weather