Dan Clemente has always been experienced beyond his years.

One of only two returning starters to the Harvard men's basketball team's roster, Clemente led the Crimson in scoring (14.7 points per game) and rebounding (4.6 rebounds per game) last year. The junior was also the team's top three-point shooter, converting on 41.7 percent of his shots last season.

His impressive numbers belie a debilitating ankle injury that he overcame with grit and hard work. His phenomenal play last season earned him an All-Ivy honorable mention, one in a string of awards given to the talented forward.

"I've got nothing but the highest regard for Dan," Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said. "He went through rehab, he gritted his way through last season hurt, he went to surgery right away and wasted no time, and I think he had the most workmanlike summer I've seen. That indicated to me that he's ready [to be the leading scorer]."

During the 1997-98 season, which was Clemente's first year with the Crimson, he was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year, one of only four winners in Harvard's history. In addition, he was named to the Sporting News National All-Freshman team.

Though he stands at 6'7, Clemente is as lethal on the perimeter as in the paint. Clemente's versatility is a dangerous offensive weapon, and other schools have taken notice of the threat that the multifaceted Clemente poses. "People will be grabbing my shirt and [playing rough]," said Clemente. "My teammates have been saying that they've got to get some shots so that I can get open."

Clemente is ready this season for this brand of rough-and- tumble basketball, and his childhood days of playing ball laid the foundation for his current success.

He comes from a family of athletes devoted to another sport--football. His father and all of his uncles excelled on the fields of established Division I programs.