A Clemson Tiger from the Past: Wayne Buckingham

Once upon a time, Clemson basketball had one of the best athletes/recruits in the country in Wayne Buckingham. Although Buckingham never quite made the splash on the basketball court everyone expected, presently, he’s making a difference in other’s lives on and off the court through basketball.

South Carolina native Zion Williamson is regarded as one of the freakish athletes college basketball has seen in a long time. The Naismith Award recipient stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 280 pounds with above average quickness and a vertical leap over 43 inches.

Williamson is set to be the No. 1 pick in next month’s NBA draft and on path to fulfill a dream of playing in the NBA.

Back in 1989, South Carolina welcomed a phenomenal athlete in Southside High(GA) power forward Wayne ‘Buck’ Buckingham to Clemson University. Buckingham, a Bell Buckle, TN native, was a powerful 6-foot-9, 255 pound rim rattler and remains the highest ranked recruit to sign with Clemson.

Before Twitter and YouTube immortalized highlights for athletes across the country, extraordinary athletic feats were only captured on VHS tapes, discussed and shared by word of mouth.

With the help of YouTube and a few appearances on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 plays of the day, Zion became a star years before he ever donned a Duke Blue Devil uniform.

Buckingham played in the pre-YouTube, ESPN Top 10 era but commonly made Top 10 worthy highlights throughout his prep career.

“I can remember throwing him alley-oops. I remember one night when we were playing a cross-town rival, and Wayne was coming down the baseline. I hadn’t even crossed the half court line yet, and he pointed towards the goal,” said David Parker, a friend and former Cascade High(TN) teammate of Buckingham’s. “I threw it up there and he caught it, it appeared to me at the top of the backboard. That was probably my most memorable assist ever.”

In 1986, Buckingham left Tennessee for Atlanta, Ga, a move that disappointed Bell Buckle sports fans and was later scrutinized by the NCAA, to play for legendary Southside High head coach David Jones. Jones was also a coach for the BC All-Star camp, a camp that invited top players from primarily Atlanta, DC, Philadelphia, Maryland and New York and ran from 1978-91. Buckingham was invited to the camp and Jones recalls his performance in the slam dunk contest.

“I’ll like to take something back to Atlanta. You need to win this.” Jones said he told Buckingham. “Buck said I got you, baby. After 10 or 12 kids dunked, Buck comes up, goes down the middle, and cocks that thing back and when he dunked it, the whole backboard shattered. He came down with the rim in his hand and the judges said we don’t need to run anymore-Buckingham’s got this. To my knowledge, he never lost a slam dunk contest and of course, he was 6-foot-9, 255 pounds on a slim day.

Buckingham is rumored to have destroyed over 10 rims or backboards and also jumped over a few cars during his prep career. However, unlike the rims and backboards, cars were usually left intact.

“Have you heard of the movie “Gran Torino” with Clint Eastwood?” asked Jones. “Well, it’s named after a 1974 Ford car, and I had one. Now it was a wide ass car.”

“Buck told a few of his teammates that he could jump over the hood of the car. The kids were all from the city, so they fell out laughing. I told him don’t try to do that because you could hang your toe, broke your collarbone or neck and get killed. They bet him about four or five dollars. He stepped back about six or seven steps and cleared the hood of it.” Jones added. “Even though I saw it, I didn’t believe it. I just knew he would hang his toe.”

As a senior, Buckingham averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds while leading Southside to a state championship. He finished his season playing in the prestigious McDonald’s Capital Classic All-Star game along with former Duke guard Billy McCaffery, UNC forward George Lynch, and Georgia Tech standouts Kenny Anderson and Malcolm Mackey.

Clemson got his signature despite offers from Louisville, Oklahoma and UNLV, because he liked the ACC, Clemson head coach Cliff Ellis and Clemson reminded him of Bell Buckle. Buckingham only played in 62 total games in three years including one game from 1990-1992. His career was hampered by questions about his high school transcript and a knee injury.

In 1992, the basketball program was placed on probation after the NCAA ruled Buckingham was “improperly certified to play as a freshman.” As per the probation, 1990 NCAA tournament wins over BYU and Lasalle and the Tate George buzzer beating Sweet Sixteen 71-70 loss to Connecticut were vacated.

Ellis, the all-time leader in tenure-11 seasons, games coached and wins at Clemson, now in his eleventh season at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC, on his former post player.

“He was a big man and unfortunately, he had a knee injury that hurt his career. He was on that {1990} ACC championship team, and he was a big part of that,” Ellis said. “Wayne was a guy who could score down low with tremendous power, and he didn’t fear anybody.”

"“I knew I could jump over a car, because we used to jump over creeks while chasing cows and goats. My brother and friends would ask me why didn’t you get wet. I said, I just jumped over the creek.”"

Buckingham had dreams of playing in the NBA but watched Davis and Campbell and later former teammate Sharone Wright, a 1991 McDonalds All-American, all get drafted. Wright, who had his NBA career shortened by a car accident, talked about his former teammate.

“He was the most athletic big I’ve ever been around. Sort of Shaquille{O’Neal} like. Great speed and he was very, very strong. A great teammate,” said Wright.

Buckingham averaged 3.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 62 games over three seasons, not the numbers anyone expected from such a highly ranked player.

Although he didn’t achieve everything he wanted on the court, nothing stopped him from getting an education and earning a industrial education degree in 1994. Buckingham’s time at Clemson taught him lessons beyond the classroom, and he uses those lessons and his professional overseas basketball experiences to teach basketball.

After playing basketball around the world, Buckingham created W.A.B. Sports. WAB teaches basketball through camps and raises money with an annual golf tournament held in Tennessee.

“Wayne is a guy with a tremendous heart and a great teammate. He’s always out to help other people and he gives back to the game,” said Ellis of Buckingham’s present basketball endeavors. “I truly love what he stands for and how he’s handled his life. I’m very proud of him.”

Parker, who is caucasian and three years older than Buckingham, played with the seventh grader and formed a friendship later dubbed Salt and Pepper. He offered a closing statement on his lifelong African-American friend.

“At some point, basketball abilities wear out and you get older but what is not worn out about him is his willingness to help people and teach the game. That’s big,” said Parker.

Buckingham’s teaching reached a new level on Apr. 29, when he was named head coach of The Music City Icons professional team of Nashville, TN and the Women’s Blue Chip League(WBCB). He had previously served as a recruiter/player development coach for two years.

We caught up with Coach Buckingham before his coaching debut to talk about Clemson and what he’s doing today.

Q: Why is the Music City Icon head coaching job right for you? 

Wayne Buckingham: It was just a great opportunity for me. It also helps the women get jobs at the next level rather it be overseas or in the WNBA. But our main focus now is to win a championship this year. I really feel this is a good fit for me and what I already do here in middle Tennessee.

Q: Tell us about Bell Buckle and Cascade. 

Bell Buckle is a nice small town. The population was about 500. It’s bigger now but still only has one stop sign and a railroad track. No traffic lights. We do arts and crafts and there is a private school called The Webb School. If you take away Webb, the population really drops.

At Cascade, I was 6’5 in the fifth grade, taller than my teachers and already dunking a basketball. I spent my seventh, eighth and ninth grade years on the varsity team. I felt out of place growing up in a small town. But honestly, I loved it.

Q: So you move to Atlanta, then off to Clemson and the NCAA starts investigating the transfer from Cascade High to Southside. Why was there so much attention on the move? 

I know why I left Tennessee for Atlanta and it was to better myself. If any other kid who didn’t play basketball transferred because their mom wanted them to, no one would have said a word. Honestly, it was just a good move educationally and it made me a better person.

Q: The transfer was scrutinized, you had a knee injury, and missed a couple of seasons. Does your time in college influence what you do with kids today? 

That’s why I do what I do today. I have camps in five different cities and have one on June 10th in Seneca.

God put me through all of that for a reason, so I could be an influence to other young men. I experienced the good, bad and the ugly, so I’m able to tell them that nobody can stop your dream-But you!

Q: Do you mind talking about the 1992 probation?

Well, I don’t know too much about it. I just know they told me I was on probation. You have to realize I was 17, 18, so that stuff was over my head. I just tell people I was in the middle of a battle between college sports and the NCAA. They used me as a pawn. I did everything I was asked to do and had enough credits to graduate in 1993, and they gave me another year. I feel they used me to throw darts at Clemson.

Q: I have to ask you about your past habit of breaking backboards and jumping over the hood of cars. Can you shed any light on the stories I’ve heard? 

I’m the only one who could stand and broad jump over a car. I jumped over my first car in the eighth grade. I knew I could jump over a car because we{my brother and friends} used to jump over creeks while chasing cows and goats. My brother and friends would ask me why didn’t you get wet. I said, I just jumped over the creek.

I broke my first backboard in 1986 at a Five Star camp. I probably broke about 12 backboards in high school including two at Morris Brown College and one at Georgia Tech.

Q: Did you play football at Cascade?

Yes, I did. Remember now, I was 6’9 and 245 pounds. I played inside linebacker, defensive end and tight end. I did get letters from Clemson, Notre Dame, ETSU, Michigan and others. Some people said I should have made a career out of football.

Q: After getting to Clemson, who at that time, had a good football program. Did you ever think about playing football at Clemson?

Well, when I first got to Clemson, they had Chester McGlockton and the Perry boys. At the time, there was a pond and you had to walk across a bridge to the pond over to Danny Ford’s. One day, I was walking around and I heard thunder and lightning. I asked him is it suppose to rain. He said no, that’s those boys hitting each other in football practice. I said they can have that and it showed me I made the right choice. I wanted no parts of that, and I will never forget that day.

Q: Clemson football is on cloud nine now and head coach Dabo Swinney is beloved by fans and players. What do you think of Dabo?

I think he’s doing a fantastic job at Clemson. I’ve talked to him. He’s a good motivator and knows how to relate to every young man. A lot of coaches don’t have that trait. That’s the difference in a great coach and mediocre one. Dabo’s a people person too. Just listening to him talk, he had me motivated to go play football. It thrills me to death to see what our football team is doing right now.

Q: If you were a student at Clemson and heard the “thunder and lightning” today. Would you think about getting into it?

I might get in it. Dabo has a great conversation and like I said earlier, he’s a great motivator.

Q: How has the game of basketball changed and how tough is it to teach kids today?

The game has changed. I try my best to adapt to it, but I’m so fundamentally sound to the old school. It’s hard for me to accept what I see today. I don’t teach what James Harden and others do today. I teach 5-year-olds up to sixth grade, and I teach them the game-the correct way.

Q: What would you say to anyone who thinks you had an underwhelming college basketball career?

Well, I had two careers at Clemson. I felt basketball wise with the cards I was dealt and the way they held me back and spot played me. It hurt my career in regards to getting to the NBA. I probably could have gone to the NBA right out of high school, but I came to college. I definitely wanted to play with Elden and Dale and was going to leave after my sophomore year and go to the NBA with them. I had moments where I was depressed and had kind of given up on basketball because of my knee injury and the NCAA. I didn’t think the NCAA would ever leave me alone.

Now, when it comes to community, being upstanding, giving back and helping kids, I had a good career, and Clemson taught me well.

Q: I know you lost former Clemson teammate David Young last month. What kind of teammate was Young? 

Boo Young. Love him with all my heart. He was a great teammate. Shy guy off the court, but he was ready to go on the court. Boo was always there for his teammates. One thing I do remember is when he and Dennis Scott put on a three point shooting contest during our game in LittleJohn. They were shooting from the paws on either side of the court. At one point, Cliff Ellis said just give the ball to Boo Young and clear out. Boo was only 49. We are still dealing with his passing today.