Marvin Clark Jr.: Blood, Brotherhood, and Basketball
12/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
There are many ways to arrive at the Breslin Center. The path Marvin Clark Jr. had to navigate on his way to Michigan State University was long and difficult. Growing up on the streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Clark had to overcome numerous challenges that could have derailed his journey to East Lansing. The direction Clark utilized to circumvent these obstacles and guide him on his path to MSU came from family.
"Family is a big thing," said freshman forward Marvin Clark Jr. "To me, family isn't just blood relatives. Family includes people that you get really close with and you make a bond. I mean, I have a lot of family; I grew up in a family of six kids with me being the oldest."
At the age of three, Clark's father passed away in a car accident, leaving his mother to care for Clark as a single parent. Losing a parent at such a young age is difficult for a child to understand. He remembers trying to climb into his father's casket and realizing that his father was not going to wake up.
Although his mother tried, she could not protect her son from the harsh realities of the world. Growing up with money problems, Clark and his family found themselves often having to move in order to keep a roof over their heads. During his childhood, Clark saw many crimes; including robbery, violence, and drugs, but with the help from family he was able to rise above it all.
For Clark, the opportunity to participate in sports was a welcome diversion from the streets. Clark saw his uncle play football and enrolled in Pop Warner football. On the football field, he played multiple positions on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
"My uncle Daniel was the father figure through all of the tough times that me and my brothers had to go through," said Clark. "He has taken us out of bad situations. Call him up any time and he will help you with anything, probably the only father figure we had growing up."
His love for basketball didn't start until eighth grade, where the 6'-3" middle school student made the team. He started devoting more time to the sport in high school where he became teammates and friends with freshman guard Lourawls 'Tum Tum' Nairn Jr. at Sunrise Christian Academy.
"Another reason I (choose Michigan State) was Tum," said Clark. "I have been playing basketball with him for over three years. I mean, he is my best friend. It has already helped that I have someone who has played with me for a long time. He knows what I like to do, I know what he likes to do, and we have good chemistry on the floor. If I am not doing something right, he will tell me. He will light the fire under me."
As Clark progressed through his basketball career and began to recognize his abilities, he saw the sport as a way to give back to his family.
"My family is really why I play basketball and I work as hard as I do," said Clark. "I grew up in a very hard background, so they are all I really have left. That's why I hope someday I can put them in a better position."
As the recruiting process began to get underway in earnest and schools vied for Clark's attention, the future Spartan understood one of the top considerations guiding his decision on where to go was going to be family.
"When I came on my visit, the players really made me feel like I was a part of the team and family," said Clark. "It is really family orientated and that was huge to me. My mom really wanted me to stay close to home, but when she came here she got the same vibe I got. Her and Coach Izzo built a good relationship and it made her feel that I was really going to be taken care of. That is ultimately the reason why I came here."
On the court of the Breslin Center, the freshman from Kansas City, who has had many addresses, is feeling very much at home. Clark is enjoying the new family members he is making within the locker-room here at Michigan State.
"We are really like brothers on the team this year," said Clark. "We are really close, we go almost everywhere together. I love just hanging with my teammates. We have a lot of fun together, and we go to movies as a whole team often."
Marvin Clark Jr.'s arrival at Michigan State was not merely a decision, it was a family affair. Whether it was his mother and uncle helping to guide him through his early childhood or head coach Tom Izzo, or his staff and teammates' driving him to success on the hardwood court, Marvin has had many family members assist him along the way. Hopefully during his tenure at MSU, he can hold a family reunion on the road to the Final Four.
