Facing Penn at Lavietes Pavilion in a battle for first place, Clemente scored 29 points and hit six shots in a row during a huge run that gave the Crimson the lead for good in the first half. The next night, he hit the potential game-winning shot against Princeton before Wente's miraculous buzzer-beater.
"I think that's the best he's ever played," Prasse-Freeman says.
Clemente was able to finish his career on a high note, as Harvard returned home last weekend and swept Cornell and Columbia to finish at 7-7 in the Ivy League. He scored 47 points in the two games, moving him into fourth place on the all-time scoring list.
With his college basketball career now over, Clemente has time to look back and think over the good and not-so-good moments from his four years with the Harvard program.
He admits one of the things that bothers him is that, in four years, Harvard never won at Penn or Princeton, despite beating them in Cambridge. It has been ten years since the Crimson won on that road trip.
"[Penn and Princeton] just have a mentality about themselves," Clemente says. "When we go down there, they have the atmosphere, the most people coming to see them play. They have the players, and they're really good. It might just be as simple as home-court advantage."
It will be probably harder to win down there now that Clemente is gone, but he shows no sign of being worried about a team that was heavy with sophomores this year.
"I think I'm going to see a lot of great things," he says. "You know it's funny to think they're just sophomores. I feel as if they've been with me the whole time."
Read more in Sports
Botterill, Shewchuk Named Kazmaier FinalistsRecommended Articles
-
M. Hoops' Goal: RecoupThey hope that Princeton will bring out the Tiger in them. As the most difficult road trip of the season
-
M. Basketball Playing for ThirdWith two games left, Harvard men's basketball looks to put a positive spin on the season by defeating Yale and
-
Clemente Leads Crimson Attack From Perimeter, PaintDan Clemente has always been experienced beyond his years. One of only two returning starters to the Harvard men's basketball
-
The "D.C." Story: Finally, it's Dan's TeamSeveral games into the 1997-98 season, Harvard men's basketball coach Frank Sullivan made a good decision. A very good decision.
-
M. Hoops Heads to Empire StateAnother last second victory, another night on the court for the Harvard men's basketball team and sophomore guard Pat Harvey.
-
Ra-Hooligan: College Basketball Baby!For one second, the possibility existed that the Penn-Princeton hegemony in Ivy League men's basketball would be cracked. For one