Sam Clancy Jr. (born May 4, 1980) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who is an assistant coach for the Cleveland Charge of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

. He was signed with the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...

and

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

; however, he never played a game for either team. He was injured as a member of the 76ers, and was waived by the Blazers. He is 6 ft 7 in tall and he weighs 118 kg (260 pounds) and used to play at the position of forward- center.

Amateur career

His father, Sam Clancy Sr., played basketball at

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, and went on to play defensive end in the NFL for

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. Sam Jr. was born while Sam Sr. was still at Pitt. During his stint with the Browns, Sam Sr. kept a home in the western Cleveland suburb of Strongsville, OH. Accordingly, the young Clancy attended St. Edward High School, located in nearby Lakewood, Ohio. He starred alongside Steve Logan, leading St. Edward to the 1998

Ohio High School Athletic Association The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of comp ...

State "big school" basketball championship during their senior year. He graduated in 1998. In 2009, St. Edward named Clancy to the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. Clancy attended

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, majoring in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

, and played basketball for the Trojans. After the 2001 season, he declared for the

2001 NBA draft The 2001 NBA draft took place on June 27, 2001, in New York City, New York. Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted with the first overall pick in the history of the NBA. The selection of Kwame Brown by the Washington Wizar ...

. However, he never signed with an agent and withdrew his name from consideration prior to the draft. In 2002, which was his senior year, he was named the

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Player of the Year and

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second team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n. He finished his USC career as the all-time leader in blocked shots (195), third all-time in points (1,657), second in rebounds (839), second in fouls (1193) and fifth in steals (134). In March 2016 Clancy was inducted into the Pac-12 Men's Basketball Hall of Honor, during a ceremony prior to the championship game at the 2016 Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pro career

After his college career, Clancy was selected by the

with the 45th pick (in the 2nd round) of the

2002 NBA draft The 2002 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2002, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. In this draft, National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting 57 amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players, ...

; however, he missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury, and was waived by the team the following preseason. Clancy ended up never playing a game in the NBA and is 1 of 9 players selected in the 2002 NBA Draft that never played a game in the league. He has since played in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

(CBA) with the

Idaho Stampede Idaho ( ) is a landlocked state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west; the state s ...

and in Europe. Clancy was named the CBA's 2004–05 season's

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

, Defensive Player of the Year and All-Star Game MVP. He also earned nominations to the All-CBA First Team and All-Defensive Team. In July 2005, Clancy was drafted with the first pick by the Mankato Mallards of the All-American Professional Basketball League, but he never played a game with the team because the league folded later that year. In October 2005, Clancy was signed to a one-year contract by the

, but he was waived before ever playing a game for them. He also played with the Fayetteville Patriots in the NBA D-League and the Yakima Sun Kings in the CBA. Clancy has also played overseas for Iraklis Thessaloniki, Cocodrilos de Caracas of the Venezuelan LBP, Incheon ET Land Black Slamer of the

Korean Basketball League The Korean Basketball League () or simply KBL is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games (27 home and 27 away) in the regular s ...

, the Russian Super League teams UNICS Kazan, Ural Great Perm and

CSK VVS Samara BC Samara () is a Russian professional basketball team based in Samara. History BC Samara (1976–2002) Club was founded in Tolyatti as BC Azot. Club was a silver medalist of the Russian Super League 1 in 1992, and a 3-time bronze medalist, ...

, the

Spanish ACB League The Liga ACB, known as Liga Endesa for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional basketball division of the Spanish basketball league system. Administered by the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), Liga ACB is contested by 18 teams, w ...

team Grupo Capitol Valladolid, and the French League team

Le Mans Sarthe Basket Le Mans Sarthe Basket, commonly known as MSB or Le Mans, is a professional basketball club that is from the city of Le Mans, France. The team plays in the French League and internationally in the Basketball Champions League. Established in 19 ...

. In November 2009, Clancy signed with Bnei HaSharon from the Israeli League. In the summer of 2010 he joined Hapoel Jerusalem In November 2011, Sam signed with Atenas de Cordoba from the Argentinian League. After that he become a regular player of the Liga Nacional de Basquet of

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and was elected the best foreign player for the 2014–2015 season.

Coaching career

On October 24, 2023, Clancy was hired as an assistant coach by the Cleveland Charge of the

References

External links