Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly

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FREE Internet Gateway with order By Chris Bucher Freeman Staff BROOKFIELD — It's been all in the family for Brookfield Academy's boys basketball program the past six seasons. When Pat Clarey switched from coaching the Blue Knights' girls team to the boys in 2010, he realized he'd have a chance to play an even bigger role in each of his four sons' lives. When all the pieces were finally put into place, Clarey had an eerie feeling as he took the reins. "It was strange," Clarey said. "I had no intention of ever coaching my sons." Clarey coached his eldest son, Sean, in all four of his varsity sea- sons and has done the same for Ryan, who is a senior this year. "It's been a family affair," Pat Clarey said. "All of my sons have taken turns videotaping the games, my wife feeds the team, the meal is usually at our house." With two more sons set to attend the school — Aiden next year — Pat said he knows to appreciate every season. "It goes by really fast," he said. "Before you know it, the freshmen are seniors and you can't stop time. I try to enjoy every moment. At the same time, you have to wear both hats; being a dad and a coach." In his four seasons on the Blue Knights' varsity roster, Sean set a new scoring mark at Brookfield Academy (1,688 points) and racked up countless accolades. He's a fresh- man at Michigan Tech University. Now, it's Ryan's time to shine, and he's taken full advantage of it. In his final year in a Blue Knights jersey, Ryan's averaging 25.9 points per game to go along with 7.2 rebounds. He set a new career high of 39 points in a 67-66 loss to Mil- waukee Morse Marshall on Dec. 11. As it often does, his success has translated to wins, as the Blue Knights are undefeated in confer- ence (4-0) while holding a 6-2 overall record. The stellar play didn't just happen overnight, either. As a junior, Ryan was voted the Midwest Classic Conference's Play- er of the Year for a season in which he averaged 21.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists. It was no surprise to Pat to see the emergence of another star in the family. "You knew early on he was differ- ent. He's a gym rat. A lot of kids talk like they work on their game, but Ryan backs it up," Pat said. "He doesn't leave a gym till he makes 1,000 shots, which gives him the muscle memory, ball handling and competitive drive to succeed." While both have had their time to lead the Blue Knights, Pat said that's where most of the similarities end. He said he thinks Sean and Ryan are two very different players. While Sean is an incredibly accurate shooter, Ryan has the ability to drive to the basket and make something big happen at any given moment. "Ryan is very tough minded and never ever flinches. He's fearless," Pat Clarey said. "He's seasoned on the AAU circuit and has played everywhere against any anybody and I've never seen him back down." While he's always had a physical demeanor, Ryan said he got his edge on the court from countless hours of playing 1-on-1 games with his older brother in his younger years. And, as is often the case competing with a brother, it didn't always end in the most pleasant way. "Having an older brother pushed me to be competitive every day and still pushes me," Ryan said. "Play- ing against a bigger, older, tougher kid helped me with the process of getting and being better. A lot of our 1-on-1s (games) ended in fistfights." Through his three previous sea- sons, Ryan's role on the Blue Knights has never really been steady. That, along with the current role he's in, has shown his versatili- ty and has given him an outlet to showcase his unique ability to con- vert at important times of each game. "His role changes every year," Pat said. "The past two years we've asked him to score a lot of points for us, but prior to that, his job was to facilitate, find open guy on the floor, guard the best player on each team and get on the glass. He's very adap- tive to whatever you need out of him." Another contributing factor to Ryan's success in high school is teammate and fellow-senior Joseph Lemon. Through 19 games, Lemon's aver- aging 22.4 points and eight rebounds per game. The connection of Clarey and Lemon has proved to be very dif- ficult for many teams to contain. "If I didn't have Joe they could do a box-in-one and defend tougher," Ryan said. "But having Joe and hav- ing a great offensive lineup and with him on the glass, there's no worry about boxing out. Our fast break scares other teams because it's hard to guard both of us." The connection between the two players didn't start at Brookfield Academy. In fourth grade, the two developed a friendship by playing AAU basketball in the offseason. "He helps me in so many ways," Ryan said of his familiarity with Lemon. "I don't have to stress myself out. If I'm in trouble, I know I'm passing (the ball) to a guy that can do something with it. It takes a lot of stress off of me." After graduation, Ryan plans to attend the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater. With a slew of Division II offers on the table, some may question why Ryan opted to commit to a Division III program. For him, he said it's all about continuing the tradition of winning. "They're a championship team," Ryan said of Whitewater. "I think of our team as a championship team and I want to keep going in that aspect. I wouldn't want to play at any DII that would maybe just win conference. With Whitewater, they will win a national championship. He's interested in studying either physical science or business at Whitewater. Email: cbucher@conleynet.com Father coaches son as senior leads Blue Knights in scoring Clarey family gathers around basketball Get to know ... RYAN CLAREY School/Sport Brookfield Academy/ Boys Basketball Coach Pat Clarey Class In School/Age Senior/17 Also In My Family Are: my dad Pat, my mom Deanna, and my three brothers, Sean, Aidan and Peytan. I also have two gold- en retrievers, Nash and Louie. The Athletic Accomplish- ment I Am Most Proud Of Is: losing by six points to the No. 17 team in the nation, St, Benedicts.. My Favorite Subject In School Is: criminal science. My Favorite Teacher Is: my old math teacher, Mr. Reiner. My Favorite Movie Is: "Semi- Pro." My Favorite Recording Artist Is: Kenny Chesney. My Favorite TV Show Is: "Impractical Jokers." The Best Meal My Mother Makes Is: all of them. A Bad Habit I Have Is: staying up late. A Pet Peeve I Have Is: when people don't give their full effort. The Thing I Do Best Outside Of Athletics Is: beat Joseph Lemon in NBA 2K16. The Person I'd Most Like To Meet Is: Kobe Bryant. The Last Time I Cleaned My Room I Found: $40. Nobody Ever Says I'm: bor- ing. My Most Memorable Experi- ence Is: the basketball team traveling to New Jersey to play for the Jimmy V Foundation. My Most Prized Possession Is: my grandpa's coin collection. One Thing People Might Not Know About Me Is: I love to go to flea markets. One Thing I Would Change About Myself Is: to not be so critical of myself. One Thing At My School I Would Change Is: having a continued effort to have athlet- ics as successful as academics, such as Duke or Stanford. I See Myself In 10 Years Being: an assistant or head coach at a college. I Wish Coach Clarey Would: lose the medicine balls and cones. Submitted photo Brookfield Academy senior Ryan Clarey plans to play basketball at the Uni- versity of Wisconsin-Whitewater next year.

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