A Clemson Tiger from the Past: Harold Jamison

It’s time to look back into the history of Clemson basketball and check in on one of the players from the past. 

Harold Jamison is from Holly Hill-Roberts High in Vance, SC and was one half of Clemson’s version of the Bruise Brothers(Tom Wideman was the other brother). Under Coaches Rick Barnes and Larry Shyatt, Jamison and his teammates played a physical brand of basketball that helped lead them to 4 post season appearances including a Sweet 16 and final ranking of 8 in the 1996-97 season.

Jamison brought athleticism to the power forward position and used that athleticism to wow fans with lots of dunks and rebounds.

He wasn’t drafted by the NBA, but caught the eye of the Miami Heat through tryouts and landed an $800,000 free agent contract in 1999. After a season each with the Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers and a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jamison permanently continued his career overseas and retired from basketball in 2013.

Today, the man nicknamed “Big O”cheers on his Tigers and his daughter Illana Jamison, who is on the Clemson track team, from Florida as he thrives as a successful entrepreneur.

Have you dunked on anyone lately? 

Jamison: I dunked on somebody at the park the other day. That’s been my claim to fame since I shut it down. Some things don’t change.

I know that you were pretty athletic and got some attention from football coaches. How much attention did you get and did you consider football as a pro career? 

Jamison: I was highly recruited as a defensive end. I had pro scouts and almost any school that you can name looking at me in high school. It’s funny that you asked me that because the NFL was actually in the back of mind. But by the time, I shut it down. You’re talking about a 37-year-old. Nobody wants a 37-year-old rookie, no matter how good of a shape that I’m in.

I heard that you could fly for a guy who stood 6’8 and weighed 260 lbs. What was your 40 time at Clemson?

Jamison: The highest I clocked was a 4.52, but I never really timed it again. I’m sure that I got quicker, but how much faster-I’m not sure.

In 1991, Michigan had the Fab Five and in 1995, you were a part of Clemson’s fabulous group of freshmen that included you, Terrell McIntyre, Andrius Jurkunas, Tony Christie, Tom Wideman, Patrick Garner, and Ledarion Jones. At times you had five freshmen on the court and announcers would call you the Fab Five. Did you guys hear the correlations or any comparisons with the Michigan freshmen? 

Jamison: Not as far as comparing us, but I do think that those were some exciting times. We were probably not on the same level talent wise from the outside looking in. But knowing what I knew then, we definitely had the heart to go up against somebody like the Fab Five. In my mind, I think we were “the Fab Five.”

What was it like being a part of that class and did you guys develop a special bond among each other?

Jamison: It was during the rebuilding thing in Rick Barnes second year, so we didn’t have a choice. We had to grow up quick, and we knew that we would get playing time. We were ready, mentally. They didn’t have any post players and Greg Buckner was the best post player, and he was a 2 or 3.

With me, I was rated highly in South Carolina and people just weren’t sure whether I was going to play basketball or football, and then you have someone like Tom Wideman. Wideman was basically playing the same position as me but was more nationally known. For a second, it looked kind of bleak for me. I think we bought in at the beginning as far as the brotherhood was concerned. We literally trusted each other not just on the court but definitely off the court. I think that’s what made us even tighter on the court. We would go to war for each other that was our identity. I think Rick did a good job of that, but a lot of that developed off the court as well just from that bond and having each other’s back.

Clemson was known as a tough, physical team under both Rick Barnes and Larry Shyatt. But during Barnes’ tenure at Clemson the physical reputation was more noticeable and let’s face it-established. Did Barnes teach that mentality? 

Jamison: He didn’t just teach it. He freaking lived by it. Some of us were known as individuals, but we weren’t top 20 in the nation or anything like that, so we had to buy into something and that’s when Rick came with that mentality as far as being tough. We were playing in the best conference in the land, and we had to develop some kind of toughness mentally first. Teams knew when they played us that they were going to get their asses beat and were in for a dog fight. We didn’t lay down for anybody.
One of the craziest stories that I remember about Rick was in my first year. They would roll the bleachers back in Littlejohn, and we didn’t have an out-of-bounds in practices. So it was like the ball was never dead. You were not out of bounds until you touched the bleachers whether you had to dive or push someone. You were literally not out of bounds, because the court regulation lines didn’t even exist.

One of the most memorable dunks in Clemson basketball history happened during your freshman year. You beat UNC in the ACC tournament on a dunk by Greg Buckner. Most Tiger fans remember Buckner for the dunk, but they might not recall that you made the pass. What do you remember about that play? 

Jamison: First of all, over the years, I’ve heard a lot of people say that I was probably the best person to get that ball to Buckner. But I don’t have to take credit for a lot of things. When I got the ball, I had like a split second and all I saw was three guys coming at me, so I’m like shoot somebody has to be open. I glanced out of the corner of my eye and didn’t even like turn my body. It was almost instinctive to fake real quick, and then boom. Greg was short corner baseline, they had to play Terrell, and I knew I couldn’t bounce it. I just had to get it to him. And those guys couldn’t recover after closing out on me.

Afterwards, I was wondering why in the hell were they getting ready to trap me of all people. I can see if I was a jumpshooter or something like that and knowing basketball like I do now. I would have never had anyone or at least not three people try to close out on me. Maybe, they were trying to force me to get the ball out or force a turnover, but I had a good turnover to assist ratio. Well, whatever they were thinking, I’m glad that’s what they thought.

It was exciting for us. It was a big accomplishment for me personally as far as basketball is concerned. I got recruited by them highly for football but for basketball I wasn’t on their radar and growing up that was the one school that I wanted to attend. It was my number one school, so winning that game on that big stage for Terrell, who also wanted to go to UNC, and I was big.  As roommates we talked about that, so it was kind of like payback for us.

“We didn’t lay down for anybody.”

During your time at Clemson, you were in the post season all four years, including a Sweet 16 and an NIT championship final appearance. What stood out for you as you look back at that successful era of Clemson basketball? 

Jamison: The thing that I remember the most-well, it’s probably two things. The last second of the NIT final which we should’ve won. That loss killed me, because I wanted to go out a champion. I think for me that would have solidified everything I had worked four years for and stayed four years, regardless if it was the NIT. That loss hurt pretty bad. The other one was my sophomore year, when we opened against Kentucky. I think that sent a message to the country that “we’re here.” We don’t care who you are, we don’t care if you have five NBA players in your starting five. We don’t give a damn. We are going to come to play, and we are going to bust ass. We also went up to # 2 in the country that season.

You had a successful international basketball career but why didn’t you attempt to make another NBA team. The reason I ask that question is because you made teams early in your career. 

Jamison: Well number one, I knew that I would have became a journeyman. At that time, there were only specific coaches that really appreciated my style of play, and back then they were mainly on the east coast. It became a numbers game, because I was considered a tweener and didn’t have a set position. Defensively, I could defend positions 2-5 in the NBA on any possession. But on offense, I didn’t have a position, and I think that was tough for a lot of teams that weren’t defensive minded. Plus when I was with the Clippers and Cleveland, they were younger guys that had more of a defined role that they were considered “great” at. At that point, I never gave up, but I had to decide do I stick around hoping to be 10-12 or hope to slide up in the rotation. Or while I’m still young, try to take a chance and go overseas. I went overseas after leaving Miami, came back to the Clippers, and then after Cleveland;I felt like it was my time. I still loved the game, and I knew that I would get a whole lot of playing time. But I lived my dream. I made it and stuck around for a bit. That was my dream.

I’m going to assume that your athletic career is done for now. But you still have Illana and your brother Josiah Jamison as current athletes in your family. Josiah is a Paralympic athlete and a heck of a sprinter. 

Jamison: That’s my baby brother. He’s one of my inspirations. He’s had a lot of accolades-just incredible. He’s been to the Olympics twice maybe even three times. He is actually thinking about retiring, because at 35 he’s getting a little too old to continue as a sprinter. I think this will be his last year. They have the World games coming up this year, and I think he’s going to compete and be done.

What do you think about Clemson and your time there?

Jamison: It wasn’t much of a life because everything was basketball. But great people, great ties there. I really enjoyed my time. I still have a few people that I stay in contact with there too. The things that they have done to the campus is unbelievable. Clemson was always a beautiful campus but now it’s at a whole new level. Obviously the football team is doing well and are in the spotlight, but I would love to see the basketball team definitely pick it up and have some national notoriety as well.

I have to ask this question. What is the origin of the nickname, ” Big O” ?

Jamison: I’ll never tell. But the legendary South Carolina high school coach, George Glymph gave me that name.

Harold Jamison Clemson basketball career superlatives:

• Most offensive rebounds in a game(11)tie 1997.
• Most rebounds in a ACC Tournament game(20) 1999.
• Most dunks in a season(62) 1998-99.
• Best field goal percentage in a season(.674) 1998-99.
• Most offensive rebounds as a senior(123) 1998-99.
• 2nd in free throws made as a freshman (83) 1995-96.
• 5th all-time in total rebounds(937).
• Best all-time field goal percentage(.609).
• Selected to the 100th Anniversary team.
• Led the team in total and offensive rebounds all four years played.
• Started as a sophomore and a senior.
• Averaged 12.7 points and 9.9 rebounds in his final season.