The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS Senior Sports Reporter bstubbs@tribunemedia.net HE'S 6-feet, 9-inches and 270 pounds. He hails from the Family Island. But come this year, center Shaquille Oneil 'Shaq' Cleare will be making the transition from high school to college on a full athletic scholarship. Cleare, a native of North Andros, has been as a hit at The Village School in Houston, Texas that Maryland University has already signed him up for their Terrapins men's basketball team when he graduates this summer. Home for the holiday, Cleare attended the 8th Providence Holiday Basketball Classic for senior boys teams at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium where the 18-year-old talked about his performance. "My goals is to get better, get in better shape and improve on my post game, my jump shots and my defense," said Cleare, who is averaging about 32 points and 17 rebounds in six of the seven tournaments that The Village School has to play in before their season is completed. Having had offers from a number of colleges and universities, Cleare decided to sign with the Terrapins simply because they are in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) where such schools such as Clemson, Wake Forest, Florida State, Boston College and Duke are all members. "The ACC is a tough conference and if you can shine there, you can shine anywhere," Cleare stated. "I just don't want to play with the best, I want to play against the best so that I can enhance my skills." Cleare, considered a late bloomer having started playing basketball during his teenage years, said he owe a lot of his success to his parents, Brian and , who made the sacrifice to send him to high school in Houston. "We expect to continue to work hard and win a lot of games," said Cleare, who has made an impact at The Village School where he has been a towering dominating factor in the paint. The scouting report has Cleare listed as a "big body post with off the charts upside. He has good hands, light feet and excellent touch around the basket. "Cleare uses his strength to power the ball to the rim with drops steps on both side of the lane." As he prepare for the next level, Cleare said he's been advised to work on his mid-range jump shot and defense because the coaching staff at Maryland are anticipating him coming in an making an impact right away. "This past summer, I did a lot of one-on-one stuff with this private coach," Cleare pointed out. "He played in the NBA for a year and he coaches one of our AAU teams. "I as worked out with (NBA's San Antonio Spurs') Antonio McDyess for about 2-3 weeks. He taught me a little post move, a jump shot and how to work your body inside, being more physical." Although he's thinking about communications, Cleare said he's not settled yet on his choice of a degree yet. He's undecided until he get to Maryland. Right now, he said he just wanted to enjoy the holidays with his family. His father, Brian, said he had the task of making sure that Shaquille maintained his weight, despite the fact that he ate a lot of crab and rice and ham and turkey. "At the moment, I'm very proud of his accomplishment," said his father, Brian. "He's been working very hard. He's very disciplined and very focussed. "So he's just now beginning to see what is at stake in terms of basketball. He has all the physical tools and the discipline to become a great basketball player." As one of the prominent figures in Andros, the elder Cleare said he's confident that his son will make the island and indeed the Bahamas very proud of his achievement in the next couple of years. "When I spoke to the number of schools interested in recruiting him, they all told me he need to work on his mid range jump shot. Once he get that down, he can't miss the NBA," he projected. "He also knows how important academics is. Just a few weeks ago, he just took his SAT exams. We haven't gotten the results from that yet, but he's very focussed, so I'm looking for good things from him." When he was born, Shaquille weighed in at 10 pounds, 11 ounces, but as a younger, he had to have a pin placed in his hip to keep the ball socket in place. "I kept him from basketball for a while, so it could properly heal," his father noted. "But he is fundamentally sound and he works very, very hard, so I'm looking for good things for him in the future." At one point growing up, his older brother Isheiko was looked up too by Shaquille. Today, it's the reverse as the New Providence resident now admires his younger brother. "He has been able to acquire a full athletic ride to a prominent division one school, so it all speaks for itself," said Isheiko, who like his father, wish only the best for Shaquille.