Augie Joe takes court with the pros

Shaun Clements '04 makes appearance on reality TV show

Shaun Clements was a good Division III basketball player at Augustana College. At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, he was a two-time all-conference selection and finished his career as one of only 22 1,000-point scorers in school history. And he played on a team that captured the 2003 CCIW championship.

Now a financial advisor for Axa Advisors in Chicago, Clements stays in shape playing in basketball leagues with former Vikings teammates Drew Carstens, Aaron Thompson and Jim Thomas. But he wasn't quite prepared for what he came up against in an appearance on the TV show Pros vs. Joes, which aired on Spike TV in May.

	THE CLEMENTS FILE
	Height: 6-foot-6
	Weight: 220 pounds
	Position: Forward
	Hometown: Lake Zurich, Illinois
	Major: Business Marketing
	Current job: Financial Advisor, Axa Advisors, Chicago
	Year G Pts. Reb. 00-01 25 9.4 5.6 01-02 25 8.9 5.3 02-03 21 13.7 6.5 03-04 24 11.5 5.0 Totals 95 10.7 5.6

Clements was paired with two other players with only amateur experience in a game of 3 on 3 against former NBA stars Shawn Kemp, Robert Horry and Ron Harper. Clements, who averaged 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds over four years at Augie, was matched with Kemp, a 6-10, 285-pounder who gained fame as an all-star for the Seattle Supersonics in the mid-1990s.

"He's a big man," Clements said with a laugh. "He was a load to handle."

The gist of show, which pits "average Joes" against professional athletes from different sports, is to have the Joes portrayed as grossly overconfident before being humiliated by the pros, which is almost always how it plays out. Clements made the casting connection through a friend of a friend in Chicago, and he traveled to L.A. in March for the shoot. While it's billed as reality TV, Clements said it's anything but.

"The show is all about the Joes being cocky. So, every question they had was geared to make me sound arrogant," he said.

At one point, the producers asked Clements if he thought the pros were overrated and out of shape.

"At first, I was like, ‘No. I don't think so. They're athletes, so they're probably still in shape,'" Clements said. "After that, the producers looked at each other and said, ‘That was a good answer, but we're going to do this again. This time, we want you to talk about how the pros are washed up and how you can take them.'"

There was a second take, and a third, and, Clements said, "In a matter of five minutes, it went from me taking the pros' side to yelling that I was going to kick their butts."

Of course, he didn't. So, while his time at Augustana didn't exactly prepare him to go head to head with NBA All-Stars, the degree in business management he received here did put him on the path to a career with Axa Advisors, where he's worked the past three years. And he still keeps connected with teammates, coaches and friends.

"Your college experience shapes your life. You do so much growing up in four years," he said. "My friends from college are still my best friends, and when we get together and talk about our time at Augustana, it's all great memories."