I'm sitting courtside before an NBADL game between the Bakersfield Jam and the Idaho Flash. The two teams are warming up before what seems to be the largest crowd I've ever seen at a Jam game. We're a few minutes away from the National Anthem, (which will be sung by some children's choir and will receive the biggest response for any singing of our country’s anthem for any sporting event in Bakersfield. I thought the performance was sub-par and sounded like a recording from a cassette tape) and Mateen Cleaves is right in front of me nodding his head and singing the words to TI's "Bring 'em Out."
You might not know much about the Big Ten's all time assist leader, or you might not have heard anything remotely positive about the 2000 NCAA Final Four's Most Outstanding Player because Mateen Cleaves' career has not been what any of us expected. Cleaves was drafted 14th in the 2000 draft and became the most overpaid cheerleader in the world by the time he found himself in Sacramento on those teams that, unfortunately, hit their peak during the Kobe-Shaq era. Since he was traded from the Motor City, Cleaves hasn't found a home in the NBA finding himself on five different NBA rosters, two teams overseas and a trio of NBADL teams.
The legacy of Cleaves may forever be that kid in the Spartans jersey with the huge smile on his face doing that silly little dance after time expired on Florida's hope for a national championship. We'll always remember that break away where he was seemingly undercut by the Gators Teddy Dupay, sending him to the hardwood in agony. We'll always remember watching him hobbling toward the locker room with an ankle sprain that looked to be the end of a magical run by Tom Izzo's boys. We'll always remember that return to the game in Willis Reed like fashion where he finished the game on one good leg, willing jump shots into the basket sparking a run that would ultimately put the Gators away. We'll always remember how great watching Cleaves was in college, but that's probably all we’ll remember.
It's just seconds until tip-off (and they're playing that old NBA on NBC tune. I'm not sure how legal this is) and Cleaves, the D-League’s March player of the month (for averaging 21.6 ppg, 10.1 apg, 5.7 rpg, and 2.3 spg in just 10 games), is standing in the backcourt with a band-aid on his irregularly large forehead and already giving directions to his younger teammates. In about three hours from now, Cleaves will sit down and talk to me after being outplayed by Idaho's Randy Livingston in a five-point loss. Cleaves will score seven points less and shoot 20 percent under his season average, but he will have 16 assists and finish three rebounds shy of a triple-double.
As basketball fans, we probably won't remember anything else Cleaves does on the court because the fact is, I'm here in Bakersfield watching him in games that are only televised locally and on channels you have to pay extra for as a part of an NBA package. I met Cleaves 20 minutes before their pre-game shoot around, and he had the enthusiasm of that same kid at Michigan State staying an extra year chasing that ever so elusive national championship, not that of a 31-year-old who was passed on by six different NBA teams. After meeting him, I couldn't figure out why everyone I told about the interview (myself included) had so many negative things to say about him. He may not be as talented as we all expected him to be, but he's chasing a dream, and I'm just not one to shun people for chasing a dream (no matter how far off it seems).
PB: What do you think is keeping you out of the NBA right now?
Mateen: It’s just perception. That’s all it is.
PB: What about those who say that you’re just mediocre at best? What do you say to them?
Mateen: I don’t really get caught up with what the scouts or what other people have to say. Every time I play, I play well. I’m not being cocky when I say this, I’m confident. I’m a guy that works hard every time I get in the gym, I put a lot into my game, so, honestly can’t tell you what it is.
PB: You’ve been given so many chances already. What happens when you’re given another chance? What is going to make things different?
Mateen: I know if I do get the opportunity I’m going to play well. I just really don’t know what they’re missing, but I have fun on the court though. If somebody gives me a chance, they’re going to find a diamond in the rough.
Before this interview, I probably would have laughed at the idea of Cleaves being a diamond in the rough for any of the 30 NBA teams, but while he spoke, as crazy as this may sound, I believed every word.
When I got home from the interview, it took me a while to grasp the idea of Mateen Cleaves, with a plate of massive portions of roast beef, rice and beans, convincing me of his ability to play at the highest level; especially after watching him play well on an off night for him. I know it’s the D-League, but his poise in the fourth quarter was unparalleled with anyone else in the gym that night. Sure, the Jam lost, but there was a five-possession sequence where he was able to find his way to the rim or create for a teammate. He either scored or had an assist on all five possessions. He didn’t force anything; he just let the game come to him.
“I just come out and play ball. I’m one of those guys that just loves what I do. I’ve been blessed to be able to do the things that I do. I have fun with it, every time I step on the floor whether it’s in the game or at practice, every time I get on that floor I have to work hard. The stats come with me trying to win. I’m not a guy that looks to go out and score 20 points and have 10 assists. I just play the game.”
It took a while for me to really understand what Cleaves was talking about when he said perception is what’s keeping him out of the league. I do understand now. Some people don’t succeed right away, and GM’s take chances on upside and potential. To be frank, there isn’t much upside or potential in a guard that’s been given a chance and was not able to take advantage of it. It’s hard to earn new opportunities because there will always be new, young talented guards teams can take a chance on. But I can’t stop there, because NBA scouts, coaches and GM’s aren’t the only ones with a skewed perception of Cleaves. Fans of the game have a tilted perception of him too.
I told various people about interviewing Cleaves and I generally got the same response from everyone. Zach Harper, editor of talkhoops.net, told me to ask him to put his check on the line in a one-on-one game. My father told me to ask him what it was like sitting on the bench while the Lakers whopped the Kings ass year after year. My friend Celia Kelly had a laundry list of jokes about the size of his head and my friend Corey Moore told me not to bring a 40-ounce of anything to the interview. Hell, even I had a few stark remarks about the former standout point guard.
Even though his legacy will forever remain in the Jack Breslin Student Center, this is not where any of us garner our perceptions of Cleaves, which is really unfortunate for him. I mean, Cleaves was only the eighth Spartan to have his number retired, an experience he explained as “a blessing to be thought of as one of the best players to ever play there [Michigan State],” and his jersey is hanging in the rafters with the likes of Scott Skiles, Steve Smith and Magic Johnson. It’s hard to imagine why everyone has this negative perception of him. He did amazing things in college but he couldn’t find his way in the NBA. He has the same post-college career Khlid El-Amin has, but we never hear anything negative about the ex-Husky (by the way, when you take “ex” off of Husky when describing El-Amin, Husky becomes a adjective instead of a noun).
Nothing Cleaves told me in the interview was false, he didn’t breathe a breath of arrogance and his body language never told me he was bitter about not being in the NBA right now. He has a better attitude than guys like Stephon Marbury or Steve Francis and he’s just as talented, if not more talented, as guys like Smush Parker or Royal Ivey, but the reality is, he hasn’t found a home in the NBA yet. Cleaves may have the tool set to be a back-up point guard in the league, he may be more mature than every guard on the New York Knicks (that’s right, all 30 of them), but the reality is, his time is running out at 31 years old, and the NBA has the wrong perception of Cleaves.
Photos Courtesy of sayhey.files.wordpress.com, ibiblio.org, oldmencrying.com, respectively