NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Basketball at a high level is nothing new for Norfolk State guard Jasha Clinton. After all, she's a four-time state champion from Princess Anne High School.
"Going from Princess Anne to college, I don't think anything was different," Clinton noted. "(Darnell) Dozier was hard on us. We lifted. When you talk to [players from] other high schools, they're like 'we didn't lift or do nothing.' We lifted every day. We practiced hard every day."
Clinton went from the Cavaliers to the college level, playing three years at Temple before moving to Hampton and is using her final year of eligibility in the green and gold.
"It's been amazing," she smiled. "I love the school, I love the team and I love my coach. This is the first male coach I've had after high school basketball so it's been a good experience."
"She's the engine that makes us go," added Norfolk State head coach Jermaine Woods. "I always tell her that and when she goes, we go. She's very important to our success. We keep the ball in her hands and she makes decisions. She's a coach on the court."
Player, point guard and leader. In the winter of 2024, Clinton added another and even more important title to her list- mom. Her daughter, Gia, came along that February and made her rethink many things, including whether or not she wanted to continue with basketball.
"My mother-in-law and my mother, they talked me into coming back," she recalled. "I really just did it for my daughter and my family and for myself now, because I'm happy I'm here."
Jasha began her journey back to the court. After missing the 2023-2024 campaign, she transferred to Hampton and turned her focus to returning to the game she loves.
How did the comeback go? She led the Pirates in scoring last year with 13.6 points per game.
"It took me that whole year at Hampton," Clinton remembered. "I'm a fast person, but it really took me that full year to get back in shape to myself."
This year finds her across the water and continuing to excel. The guard is third in the MEAC in scoring (14.2 ppg) and leads the conference in steals (3.5 spg), all while continuing to learn how to balance the full-court press with being a full-time mom.
"I would say Coach Woods and my teammates really help me," she said. "When you come to practice, sometimes you're tired and stressing and stuff, but it takes the load off. They understand, my teammates understand because everybody goes through stuff."
"If [Gia] is crying at practice, she'll take herself out of practice to go get her baby because that's what a parent should do," Woods noted. "The basketball is not the most important thing. You being a parent is the most important thing, so she's showing her daughter that 'I love basketball, but you're more important.'"
The guard will be the first to tell you that being a mother has changed her as a player.
"I used to be a little bit of a hothead, but now my temper's gotten much better," Clinton pointed out. "I know how to control myself because I have a child. I know how to control when I'm going through stuff, even anxiety and all that, so I fell like having a child really calms you down as a person."
She's a player motivated by motherhood, knowing that young eyes are watching her every move.
"I get to show my daughter that anything is possible," said Clinton. "Even though, I'm not saying she's a mistake, but it didn't plan out how I wanted to, but I'm happy she's here to witness me doing all this good stuff."
For others watching, she's setting an example as well, showing that a little resiliency is all that it takes to get that shot back once again.
"You can beat the odds," Woods said. "You can change the narrative. It's never too late. People can say what they want to about you, but if you make intentional changes about yourself, you can be anything."
"That girl could've gave up be she didn't," Clinton added about what others can take away from her story. "I want to leave that legacy out there. You can just keep going. Anything is possible."
Clinton and Norfolk State take on Coppin State Saturday at 11 a.m.
