By JOHN D’ABRUZZO
jd’abruzzo@ncnewsonline.com

Don’t get Jordan Clingensmith wrong, he likes being a playmaker.

But the 5-foot-10 senior guard has even more fun when his Union High teammates get into the act.

“If I score 26 (points) or something like that and we lose, it kind of hurts,” Clingensmith said. “When there are three of us scoring about 15 and we win, it feels like the team is playing perfect and everything is just clicking.

“When everyone chips in, you know the team is doing really well.”

With Clingensmith leading the way, the Union boys basketball team has certainly been clicking. The Scotties (5-0 section, 8-3 overall) led the WPIAL Section 1-A standings before the break. They continued their roll by winning the Union Boosters Tournament.

Clingensmith had 17 points in a 65-63 first-round win over Laurel and then scored 16 during a 71-42 victory over Wilmington in the championship game.

For his performance, Clingensmith is Lawrence County’s Athlete of the Week, as selected by The New Castle News sports staff. The award is sponsored by Washington Centre Physical Therapy.

“That was a big boost,” said Clingensmith, whose sister Kaylin is a junior guard on Union’s girls team. “It was good to keep our momentum going because that Laurel game was tough. We played pretty bad that game, but to come out like we did against Wilmington was pretty good.”

Through Union’s first 10 games, Clingensmith averages 15.5 points with 19 3-pointers.

“He brings a lot of energy, there’s no doubt about that,” Scotties coach Dave Smialowski said. “The thing about Jordan is that he has instincts. You can’t teach that. Offensively, he knows what a good shot is. Defensively, he does a lot by getting us tips.”

Smialowski is pleased with Clingensmith’s consistency.

“Every game Jordan has hit a big shot,” Smialowski said. “When we need a shot, he always seems to come through. He always seems to be around the basketball at big times, whether he’s getting an offensive rebound and putting it back or on defense.”

Clingensmith has taken a big step since last season. As a junior reserve, he averaged 2.3 points in 23 games.


“Obviously this is his breakout year,” Smialowski said. “Last year we had some guys in front of him, so depth-wise he didn’t get many minutes. But Jordan had a good summer.
“His development hasn’t been much of a surprise because of the way he’s worked. It’s nice to see the success he’s had because he’s a senior.”

Clingensmith and Union return to section play at 7 p.m. tomorrow night at Lincoln Park. The Leopards (3-1) follow the Scotties in standings.

“We have to keep our heads in this,” Clingensmith said. “We can’t let our heads get too big and think we’re better than everybody. We have to keep doing what we’ve been doing.
“We’ve all been playing together since we were little and when we all play well, good things continue to happen.”
That is music to his coach’s ear.

“We’ve been stressing play as a team,” Smialowski said.

“I’ve been telling the kids that no one is bigger than the game. If we play as a team, good things can happen.

“They’re buying into it because they’re starting to smell a little bit of success.