We talk about family as a fixed and permanent unit, something that always was and always will be. There is comfort in thinking of it that way, but that's not really how it is.The family you knew as a child will be different from the one you know as an adult. There is birth and death, marriage and divorce. Sometimes, a girlfriend becomes a wife.And sometimes, a buddy becomes a brother.
Next Thursday, if all goes as expected, roommates Jordan Clarkson and Jabari Brown will be selected somewhere in the middle of the NBA draft and baptized into American adulthood
Just two years ago, they were strangers living almost 2,000 miles apart. But today, Clarkson says, "That dude is like my brother."
Their bond was sealed over a hellish 34-day stretch in which Clarkson and Brown—a pair of transfer guards who became Missouri's leading scorers—found out their fathers had cancer and decided the best thing they could do was be quiet, be strong and only show vulnerability within the walls of the apartment they shared together in Columbia, Missouri.One day, Clarkson walked down the hall to Brown's room.
"If you ever see me with my head down or something, man," he said, "just pick me up and talk to me."Neither is a big talker, but Brown said all Clarkson needed to hear."He said he had my back," Clarkson said.Feb. 1 was an important day for Missouri basketball, which meant there was some extra gravity pushing down on Clarkson and Brown, the Tigers' quiet leaders. A rough stretch at the beginning of SEC play had dropped the Tigers to 16-4, 4-3 in the conference.preseason No. 1 Kentucky was in town, and more than 11,000 fans showed up at Mizzou Arena hoping to see the Tigers get a win that could redefine their season.
So it made sense Clarkson's family would be in the building. As usual, Missouri would need everything it could get out of Clarkson and Brown, who for a couple of guys in their first year of eligibility at Mizzou carried an unusual amount of responsibility.
The Tigers were young and not particularly skilled in the frontcourt. Either Clarkson and Brown played well, or Missouri lost. Hosting the most talented team in the country only amplified that reality.In front of a national CBS audience, Clarkson and Brown were the two best players on the floor that day. They combined for 61 points.And Missouri lost.
Even when you control what you can control and leave it all out on the floor, sometimes it isn't enough.
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