Red Devils, NBA superstars salute Ian Clark

Ian Clark received an honor even his all-star teammate Draymond Green's never gotten.

"I never had my jersey retired," Green joked, "I wasn't good enough

"It's a big night for him obviously, coming back home to where it all started. ... It's huge. Every kid that walks into that gym will see his jersey and (say) 'oh man, he was here and he made it. I can make it too."

As a member of the Golden State Warriors, Clark's definitely made it. And his alma mater was delighted to roll out the red carpet for Clark and his teammates as they retired his jersey No. 21 during ceremonies Friday at Germantown.

The presence of Green, NBA MVP Steph Curry and Kevin Durant among others — all of whom  are in town to take on the Grizzlies Saturday at 7 p.m. at FedExForum — among others had people scrambling for their iPhones, But the night belonged to Clark, who scored 1,846 points in a stellar high school career that ended in 2009.

"This is something I never really expected," said Clark. "In high school, you kind of live in the moment. But you can never get high school back."

After graduating from Germantown in 2009, Clark went on to a standout career at Belmont — averaging 18.2 points per game as a senior — before getting his NBA break with the Utah Jazz as an undrafted free-agent in 2013.

"This is a story a lot of people don't know," said Newton Mealer, who coached Clark at Germantown and now is the coach at Center Hill.

"He comes from a very Christian family so he and his parents wanted three things (when picking a college). One, they wanted a Christian university. Two, they wanted a school with high academics. And three, they wanted a team that would have a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.

"If you ask me did I expect him to play in the NBA, the answer is no. But what I did see was a kid who was very loyal and one who wouldn't take no for an answer. And someone who was always working hard on his craft."

Red Devils coach Jason Jones, who hosted the ceremony, said he tried desperately to land Clark's signature when he was coaching at Tennessee-Martin. Other schools tried to as well.

"I was at game standing next to an assistant coach from Seton Hall," said current Ridgeway and former Germantown Principal Jon Stencel. "And he said, 'that No. 21, is he going anywhere?' And I said, 'yes, he's signed with Belmont. So a few minutes later go by and he says 'doc, are you sure he's signed or just committed. And I said, 'no, he's signed.'

"And a few minutes later he says, 'No disrespect to Belmont, but he's going to dominate there. I'd sign him right now on the spot.'"

Clark was a dominator even at Southwind Middle School, where he played for current Southwind High coach Paul Edwards as part of a team that won 78 games in a row.

"I think he was 40-0 when he was in the seventh and eighth grade," Edwards said. "He makes you proud; he really does. And he's the product of two great parents that really keep him grounded. That helps a lot."

And even though he's a part of the best team in the league, in many ways, he's still the same Ian who starred for Germantown. On and off the court.

"My daughter was graduating kindergarten and they were having a little ceremony," said Mealer. "And she said, 'Can Ian come?' And not only did he come, but he brought here 12 red roses.

"He had already played his senior season for me; he had already finished. But he came. That's the kind of guy he is ... just a great all-around guy."