As a point guard, Kaleigh Clemons has to see the whole court.
She showed recently that she's capable of seeing the big picture as far as her future is concerned, too.
The Baylor School senior has committed to continue her basketball career at Vanderbilt University. The state's reigning Division II-AA Miss Basketball averaged 13.4 points, 7.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 3.5 steals a game for the Lady Red Raiders, who advanced to the state semifinals. She was the Times Free Press Best of Preps player of the year in each of the past three seasons.
Kaleigh ClemonsClemons chose the Commodores over a number of high-major offers, including Texas A&M. The criminal law program at the Nashville school is one of the tops in the nation, which falls in line with her desire to become a prosecutor.
"When you're a woman and play sports, you can go professional, but I can be paid more for the field I'm going into as opposed to the WNBA," Clemons said, adding that playing professionally is still a dream of hers. "I can get a major-college education and still be close to my family."
She added that she was impressed by how close-knit the team was on her visit.
"This is the path that God wants to take me on, so I'm going to follow him," she said.
Clemons is Baylor coach John Gibson's first NCAA Division I signee straight out of high school. Former guard Amber Howard walked on at Austin Peay and transferred to Chattanooga State before landing at South Carolina State, where she'll begin her senior season in the fall.
The 5-foot-7 Clemons has been part of a developing basketball program that has a strong core of players ready to improve on last season's Final Four finish, and Gibson, who is entering his 11th season at Baylor, has watched her individual improvement from her eighth-grade season to the present.
"She's a true point guard that can push the ball down the floor and is tremendously skilled. She's a great competitor with not very many weaknesses," Gibson said. "She's obviously played well in the spring and summer circuits to be noticed, and I couldn't happier for her.
"She's really improved on her understanding of the game. When she was younger, she wanted the game to happen so fast and wanted to be good so fast, so it's taken a while to understand how to approach the game mentally. She's always had the skills to do whatever she wanted to do on the floor, but she wasn't doing them in order.
"I couldn't be more excited for her."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.