- From the NBA to the hardwood of Meridian Community College, the former Southern Miss star is ready to develop players and share his wisdom.
Clarence Weatherspoon, once known as “Baby Barkley,” believes he’s well prepared for his first head coaching opportunity.
Even if his path has been one less traveled.
Philadelphia media were drawn to similarities in physique and style of play between Weatherspoon and earlier Sixers star Charles Barkley when the club drafted Weatherspoon out of Southern Mississippi with the ninth pick in the spring of 1992.
He went on to play 14 years in the NBA, six of them with Philadelphia. Listed at 6-foot-6, 240 pounds, Weatherspoon also had stints with Golden State, Miami, Cleveland, New York and Houston. He played both the small and power forward positions.
“There were going to be comparisons, but if you want longevity you better go out and establish your own identity. That’s one of the things I did. I wasn’t going out there to be the next nobody,” Weatherspoon said.
Weatherspoon, who played high school ball at Motley in Lowndes County, left the NBA with career averages of 11.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He made the league’s all-rookie team in 1993.
He scored 2,130 points at Southern Miss, which is second all-time in school history. As a senior, Weatherspoon averaged 22.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. For his Southern Miss career, he averaged 18.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He helped the Golden Eagles to their first-ever NCAA Tournament in 1990 and another appearance in 1991.
Remembering the old Metro Conference
Weatherspoon was a three-time Metro Conference Player of the Year – the only player in the history of the league to achieve that honor. He was also the all-time leading rebounder in conference history.
The old Metro wasn’t for the faint of heart. It was a solid basketball league with Memphis State, Louisville, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Florida State and more.
Now Weatherspoon will try to establish longevity as a head coach, a profession in which staying around can be equally difficult.
After six years as an assistant coach at Southern Miss, Weatherspoon spent the last two as an assistant at Jones (Junior) College where he was reunited with former Southern Miss teammate Newton Mealer. Weatherspoon was named head coach at Meridian Community College in June. He replaced former Southern Miss coach James Green, who had been at MCC since 2016.
It’s quite common for players to make the transition to coaching, but Weatherspoon’s journey has been non-traditional.
After leaving the Houston Rockets in 2005 he spent 11 years in the music industry as CEO of 3535 Entertainment. His responsibilities included contract negotiations, artist development and management. He helped 3535 Entertainment land label contracts with Asylum Records and Warner Music Group.
“I was able to work with Doc Sadler and Jay Ladner for six years (at Southern Miss), and they gave me Division I experience,” Weatherspoon said.
Last year, Weatherspoon helped Jones to the school’s first appearance in the NJCAA national tournament in seven years.
“I’ve had great success over the last eight years. After being an assistant and being two years at the juco level, I am ready for this transition,” Weatherspoon said.
His playing experience helped shorten the learning curve for coaching, he said. It was different than guys who get into coaching right out of college.
“By the time they’re done being assistants for nine or 10 years, that’s all they’ve been around. I’d been playing for 14 years. I had to come back and learn the assistant side,” Weatherspoon said.
He had no trouble picking up things.
In dealing with younger players, he understands that most will not become 14-year NBA veterans.
“Guys are not always going to be that high-level. You have to have the patience to teach them for months sometimes for them to learn the game. That’s the biggest difference. You have to look at it through the eyes of the player. I can’t look at teaching a kid to play through my eyes because I was a different type of player,” Weatherspoon said.
Weatherspoon’s eyes see a game that was dominated by big men in the post in his day.
“Now the game is geared toward 3-point shooting and entertainment,” he said.
The day is at odds with what he believes most benefits the players.
“You’ve got a lot of guys who base their game off shooting 3-pointers with a lot of one-on-one play. That’s what a lot of kids in the last 20 years have seen,” he said.
That’s not what MCC players will learn from Clarence Weatherspoon.
What college basketball is
“College basketball is not that pattern. It’s still a game of development, of learning, of patience and execution,” he said.
There’s a method that Weatherspoon wants to teach. If players can slow down and embrace the idea of development he believes they will become basketball players over different stages.
“I was taught to do the things you can do best first. I did the things I could do well, scoring and rebounding, then worked on my outside shooting and my range. I think I was a wise player in that aspect because I got better and better.
“And I did help my team win by doing the things I could do at a high and proficient level.”
Parrish Alford
