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80 IllustrateD volume 24, issue 5 f just been able to lay in bed all day, I definitely wouldn't be here right now. I'd probably still be laying in bed all day. "But afterwards, (basketball) definitely gave me an escape, just to be able to play. Coach- es tell me, my family and his family said, 'He loved to watch you play, so you can't give up because then you'd be giving up on his dream as well,' so that meant a lot. I definitely had to keep going." Clemons had basketball injury issues to deal with, too, although those paled in comparison to Upshaw's death. She suffered a stress frac- ture in her left leg that had her limping around the second half of the season. And a week be- fore the NCAA Tournament started, Clemons fell hard to the Mackey Arena floor, injuring her back, after she had been challenged by Coach Sharon Versyp to get a rebound. She missed a week of practice, being wheeled around by Thornton a few times and even carried at least once by 7-foot men's basketball center A.J. Hammons. But she still managed to play in Pur- due's two NCAA Tournament games. Injuries weren't new. She played with a torn labrum in her right shoulder as a freshman, having surgery shortly after the season, and had a mysterious stom- ach ailment that fatigued her as a sophomore. Twice, she's had surgery on her left foot. Despite it all, Clemons was one of the Boilermak- ers' most improved players last season, increasing her season averages nearly five-fold from the previous year. She averaged 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in 27 minutes per game. "She was amazing," Versyp said. "… She went above and beyond what we thought, and her numbers were really good if you look from last year to this year. She showed the most growth on the team. "I think her body handled (injuries) well and her body would have handled things better if she wouldn't have gone through the loss of Jay. That just destroys your body." But the body has returned, and the mind, too. Thorn- ton says her friend has changed. She's tougher now, but more open, too, letting others help out. "She's always been pretty to herself, but going through something like this I think she's been able to let people in and allow people to help her," Thornton said. "She's such an independent person, it's hard to help her sometimes because she kind of doesn't need people, but in a situation like that it made her need people. And I think the relationships that have grown since then have been an amazing change." The Boilermakers honored Jay's memory by wear- ing royal blue shoelaces this season, representing his favorite color. And in late April, Clemons was wearing a hoodie that said "RIP Jay," produced by Upshaw's cousin who owns an apparel company. Clemons wants to do something in his honor, may- be a non-profit to help give Fort Wayne children oppor- tunities and keep them off the streets. Or maybe one that can award a scholarship. It'd help keep Upshaw's memory alive, at least the Jay she knew. "I feel like a lot of people don't know who he is, like he doesn't look like a kind person at all, but he is — he was — he was really sweet," Clemons said. "You ask my teammates; Torrie, oh my gosh, he and Torrie were like best friends. I could not stand those two to- gether. They got on my nerves (laughing). But they were best friends. He was a different person. "I loved him." j Tom Campbell Clemons was Purdue's most improved player in 2013-14, averaging 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in 27 minutes per game.