SUNY Potsdam Athletics

On Saturday night, Evril Clayton will become the 137th member of the SUNY Potsdam men's basketball program to be inducted into the Bears Athletics Hall of Fame. He is a member of the most recent successful era in a long tradition of Potsdam basketball dominance. As with other hall of famers, his road through Maxcy Hall wasn't a straight line.
 
Clayton's story is very American. He's the son of Jamaican immigrants, the first to be born in the U.S. and the first to graduate from college. He used his parents for motivation to challenge himself whenever things were tough.
 
"They came with really nothing and were able to raise two children and do a lot," said Clayton. "So, seeing that, seeing what they started with, I'm like heck, this should be easy for me."
 
Growing up in Albany, he showed his work ethic and talent for academics and basketball early on. While attending prep school, the Bears and multiple other teams came calling. Initially, Division I Manhattan College won the recruiting battle and Clayton spent his freshman 2001-02 season with the Jaspers. Despite a 20-9 record and a National Invitation Tournament berth, Clayton decided he wanted a change of venue. Former Potsdam coach Bill Mitchell saw an opportunity grab a difference maker and went after him.
 
"I wasn't sure if I wanted to transfer to Potsdam or a couple other places," Clayton said. "Franklin Pierce, Case University and a couple other schools highly recruited me, but I came to up to Potsdam, visited, stayed with Russell Johnson who was also from the Albany Area. They convinced me late in the process to come to Potsdam."
 
Ultimately, a chance to win and the school itself, brought Clayton to the North Country.
 
"I think the thing that stood out to me is that we were going to have a really good incoming class," said Clayton. "Also, we had a Division II transfer in James Connolly. Eldon Harris was another guy from the Albany Area. Christian Turner was also pretty good. So, the team was shaping up to be pretty good. The campus environment was also appealing to me. I was coming from a situation at Manhattan, where it was a big commuter school. There were things to do all over Manhattan, but it didn't really have a campus environment. Potsdam was more of a community and had a smaller student body. It didn't have the same distractions as New York City did. I had a chance to build some long-lasting relationships with guys. Those things were all appealing to me."
 
Clayton arrived on campus in the fall of 2002. He was new to Potsdam, but the Bears tradition wasn't unknown to him.
 
"It was pretty exciting," Clayton said. "I knew (Bears Hall of Famer and former Houston Rocket) Derrick Rowland. He's also from the also from the Albany area. So, I knew about the history of Potsdam, the success they had. I knew Coach Mitch recruited at a high, high level, so he had some really talented guys in the gym, including a couple of guys that had played at a higher level as well. So, it wasn't your typical Division III program."
 
When Clayton hit the court for practice as a sophomore, he joined a highly competitive group. This was the core that would capture three straight SUNYAC Championships.
 
"The guys had high expectations coming in," said Clayton. "I was the new guy on campus so, we kind of were all trying to show who was going to be the alpha dog. I think all the guys thrived in that type of environment. Christian, Eldon, Ryan Lynn, Jim, they all kind of liked that, so it was pretty interesting, the first couple of practices there."
 
The Bears opened their 2002-03 campaign with a home contest against Brandeis. A bit to his surprise, Clayton wasn't in the starting lineup.
 
"I didn't start my first game at Potsdam," Clayton said. "I worked hard all preseason and we had a good team coming in, but Coach Mitch thought it was better for me to come off the bench. I had a couple things he wanted me to work on. I think he was 100 percent correct on that. It kind of lit a fire under me for the rest of the year. That's something I use for my kids when I coach them."
 
Coming off the bench, Clayton scored 15 points to help the Bears to a 63-58 victory over the Judges.
 
Potsdam then split a home-and-home series with Clarkson University and dropped the SUNYAC opener to Geneseo to stand at 2-2 four games into the season. The Bears next opponent was Brockport, a team that had beaten them in the conference semifinals on its way to the SUNYAC title and the NCAA Elite 8 the previous season. Clayton points to this game as a turning point for this era of Bears.
 
"We were playing a Brockport team that at that time was a very strong program. They had won on a consistent basis," said Clayton. "We were playing at home and they were handling us pretty well. (My mentality was) I had just got done playing St. John's and Syracuse the year before. So, I thought Brockport, we should handle these guys pretty well. I kind of voiced that opinion to the guys, that win or lose, we had to play at a high level. That was a different outlook than we had had in prior experiences. We ended up beating them on our home court. It was a big win for us. That laid out our type of attitude."
 
Led by Clayton's 19 points and five assists, the Bears defeated the Golden Eagles 76-64. The win ignited a 14-2 streak over the next two months and helped Potsdam claim the SUNYAC Regular Season title. The Bears were upset by New Paltz in the conference tournament and bowed to St. Lawrence in the ECAC Upstate Tournament, but still finished with an 18-9 overall record and a 12-4 mark in conference play. Clayton was second on the team in scoring at 12.1 points-per-game, shot nearly 35 percent from 3-point range and was named SUNYAC Co-First Player of the Year.
 
After two successful years with two different programs, Clayton started to settle in. However, he and his teammates were stunned to learn that Bill Mitchell was leaving his coaching position to become assistant athletic director.
 
"That was a big surprise," Clayton said. "I was recruited to play for Coach Mitch for almost three years so I had a good relationship with him. He ran the team like a family. His kids and wife were always around, so it was really kind of a family atmosphere. So, to see him leave, was really tough. To be honest, I thought about leaving. Another coach, a lot of unknowns, why don't I just go back home and stay with my girlfriend. But, I decided to stay."
 
Part of the Clayton's reasoning for remaining a Bear was that he was given a say in who would coach him next.
 
"I was actually put on the hiring committee with Christian Turner for Coach Dobbs," said Clayton. "So, I think that also helped me stay because I was actually going to see the inside workings of hiring the coach. There were a lot of unknowns, but Coach Dobbs was a very energetic guy. He knew the conference, knew the area and he was a younger coach. He was going to bring some energy to the program. I think being on the committee alleviated some of those uncertainties I might have had because I was able to be involved in the process as a student."
 
Sherry Dobbs, Jr. was named the ninth head coach in program history and the Bears headed into the 2003-04 campaign loaded with talent and unfinished business. One of the newcomers that stood out to Clayton, now a team captain, was fellow hall of famer Edane Barton, a transfer from Colgate.
 
"It gets pretty interesting that year, because we had Edane Barton," Clayton said. "He had a very good skill set. He was very competitive and another Division I transfer. He's coming in with a similar mindset to where I came in. He wanted to compete at a high level, so it got really competitive (in practices), which was a good thing. The guys really embraced that. Coach Dobbs was a new guy so he's got his strategy and philosophy. Again, it was another fight to be the alpha dog among all those guys."
 
After a 3-1 start to the year that included wins over Clarkson and Plattsburgh, the Bears dropped five of their next seven and stood at just 5-6 on January 16. The following night they returned home for an important conference game with Cortland. With double-digit scoring from Barton, Harris, Turner and Clayton, Potsdam defeated the Red Dragons 75-63. With the win, Potsdam again went streaking, closing the season with a 10-4 stretch and returning to the playoffs.
 
In the first round, Clayton scored 15 points as the Bears breezed by Buffalo State 59-45. The victory earned them a trip to the Utica Auditorium for the semifinals, a goal that had evaded them the year before.
 
"Being in the SUNYAC Championship was phenomenal," said Clayton. "We didn't reach it my sophomore year and we really felt like we should have won it since we had a really good team. So, going down there and winning that was quite amazing. We were all kind of clicking at the right time. Christian had a great tournament. Edane had a great tournament. I thought I played well. Jim played well. We were fulfilling our expectations. I don't think any of the guys thought they were in over their heads. We felt we should be there."
 
Against Plattsburgh in the semifinals, the Bears built a 15-point halftime lead before rolling into the championship game with a 62-48 victory. Clayton scored 10 points in the win. Potsdam was poised to face three-time defending SUNYAC Champion Brockport for the SUNYAC title. Led by big games from Barton, Turner and Clayton, Potsdam handled the Golden Eagles 84-76 for its first conference tournament title since 1987. Clayton was 4-for-6 from 3-point range on his way to a 21-point performance and earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
 
With the title, the Bears headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990. In the first round Potsdam squared off with Penn State-Behrend in a nail biter. The Bears led by five at the half, but the game was tied at 58 with seven seconds remaining.
 
"That game was an amazing game," Clayton said. "I had a last second bucket to win that game on a pass from Christian Turner. It was a play we had run countless times. I go back door and Christian hits me with a bounce pass. He was a phenomenal passer. I ended up scoring the bucket. It was one of my highlights of being at Potsdam."
 
The layup, two of his 11 points in the game, sealed the 60-58 win and sent the Bears on to a second round matchup at the College of Wooster. Potsdam trailed the Fighting Scots by just two at the half before falling 70-56.
 
Clayton capped his junior season with first team All-SUNYAC honors. He led the Bears in scoring with 15.2 ppg. Potsdam was 19-11 overall and 10-6 in SUNYAC play.
 
After two years at Potsdam, Clayton wasn't just winning on the court. He was on the SUNYAC Commissioner's List in each of his semesters and he was named the SUNY Chancellor Scholar Athlete for basketball for the 2003-04 academic year. As with basketball, he had a natural academic talent, but also worked hard at his studies.
 
"That definitely comes from my mother and my family putting the emphasis on academics," Clayton said. "It was something that she always focused on and wanted to make sure I knew it was important, even as a young kid. I have a young son now and I always tell him, it's about balance. My mom would say 'hey, as long as you're getting your work done and you're doing well, if you want to go out with your friends fine.' So, I took that kind of model to college and said if I want to go out on a Friday night or Saturday night, I want to make sure that I knocked out all my school work during the week."
 
As Clayton headed into his senior season in 2004-05, expectations for the team were as high as they'd been in quite some time and no one was taking success for granted.
 
"Coming in from a Division I program, winning an NCAA Tournament game and Edane coming in from a Division I program, we felt like this is what we should have been doing," said Clayton. "We didn't come to Potsdam to be mediocre. We came to bring back that winning tradition. So, we were really embracing it. Coach Dobbs had a good workout program for us (in the offseason) and we hit the preseason pretty hard. Everyone was really focused. It was a great feeling as a team. The community around Potsdam embraced it too. The crowds were amazing. The fan support was great. It was really an exciting time. We started red hot. We were rolling through some teams. That was an amazing feeling to be playing on that team with some guys that were all playing at a high level at the same time."
 
The nationally ranked Bears began the year 16-0 and closed the regular season on a 6-3 run to wrap up the SUNYAC Regular Season Title. In the semifinals, Potsdam got revenge on Oswego, the team that had ended their undefeated start to the year, with a 74-61 victory. The next afternoon, the Bears achieved another major goal by seizing their second straight tournament title with an 83-70 win over Plattsburgh, including a nine-point performance from Clayton.
 
Meeting their own regular season and conference tournament expectations earned them a first round bye and a second round game in Maxcy Hall against Salem State.
 
"It was quite an accomplishment to host a game." Clayton said. "Salem State was good. I think they had a 6-10 center. We had some big guys, but their big guy was really athletic. He was their focal point so we knew we were going to have to battle with him. That was quite an exciting game. It was packed. I remember when we won the game, people stormed the court. It was bringing back that tradition of winning to Potsdam, because at one time that was a regular thing. To be part of a team that brought that back was awesome. To share that experience with my teammates was awesome as well."
 
The Bears held off the Vikings 74-73 in overtime and advanced to face No. 1 St. John Fisher at Amherst College. Clayton scored 11 points as Potsdam hammered the Cardinals 67-43 to advance to the Elite 8.
 
With a Final Four bid on the line, the University of Rochester, who ended up as the national runner-up, finally ended Potsdam's run with a 67-51 victory.
 
"It was a tough loss for everybody," said Clayton. "Emotions were high, because for us being Division III, we knew that was the last time we were going to play competitive basketball. It was really a family atmosphere. We didn't have a fraternity, we were a basketball team. That was our fraternity. It was a tough feeling, like losing my brothers, knowing this was the last time we were going to step on the court with them."
 
When the dust settled on the best season in recent memory, Clayton, now a two-time captain, had led the team in scoring again and been selected to the all-conference second team. The Bears went 27-4 overall and 13-3 in the SUNYAC. In just three seasons, he had scored 1,126 points and totaled 220 rebounds, 159 assists and 71 steals.
 
After graduating in May 2005, he set his sights on a job in the finance industry. After completing an internship with Smith Barney, he was hired by Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor on their institutional wealth management team. After a couple years, Clayton moved on to work at the Endowment and Pension Plan at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he helped manage nearly a billion-dollar pool of assets. In 2011, he was hired by the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which manages about $100 billion in pensions for all state employees.
 
"I'm directly responsible for about $60 billion of that," Clayton said. "It's a pretty daunting number when you think about it, but it's pretty exciting. In the last three years, I've been to Asia multiple times, India, China and all over Latin America and Europe. So it's been a great opportunity to travel the world as well as do benefits for New York State Employees and have it directly affect your retirement benefits."
 
While thoroughly enjoying his job, Clayton works to balance it with his family. He married his high school sweetheart Olivia and they have three children, Anthony 15, Isabella 5 and Joshua 3. He credits Olivia for making everything work.
 
"I wouldn't be able to do it without my wife," said Clayton. "Travel, work, basketball. She really is the key to all this."
 
Clayton also stays in the game he loves by coaching an AAU U15 team.
 
"It's a team that's pretty competitive, that I played on coming up," Clayton said. "So, it's a great honor to now be giving back. I'm just trying to stay in the game. I'm coaching and mentoring. I'm just trying to give back as much as I can because as you get older it gets tougher and it keeps me young. Travel wise, we've been all over. This past year we've traveled to Memphis, Indiana, Virginia and all over the East Coast to play. It's pretty interesting and pretty exciting to be the coach of that team."
 
Clayton's son Anthony is already showing some of the talent he inherited from his father and is one of his father's many pupils.
 
"He's doing pretty well," said Clayton. "He's playing at the AAU level and he'll be playing varsity basketball this year for Shaker High School. There are two Division I players on the team right now. We have high expectations this year and we're really looking forward to it."
 
Clayton said Anthony shares the college basketball dream with him.
 
"He does have some aspirations to play at the collegiate level. He's progressing fairly well. He has some interest from some low-level Division I's so things are shaping up pretty well for him."
 
Having a father for a coach could create some friction, but Clayton says that it's not really an issue for Anthony and himself.
 
"You would think it would it could be difficult, but he's actually a really good kid. You tell him to go do something, he'll go do it. Does he always want to go work out? No, but we just tell him, 'hey, this is part of the process.' Then he embraces it and he'll give a 110 percent. For that I can't fault him."
 
Evril Clayton came to SUNY Potsdam and added another chapter to it great basketball tradition. He left Potsdam with lifelong friendships and a degree that laid the foundation for tremendous professional and personal postgraduate success.