By Mike Pearson
FightingIllini.com
February is Black History Month and in celebration of the month, FightingIllini.com will be featuring a storytelling series of influential and impactful stories of African American student-athletes and coaches.
Tab Bennett: Trailblazer on Gridiron and Media
Tyra Perry: Big Ten's only African American Softball Head Coach
Believer: NFL Great Preston Pearson Starts with Humble Beginnings
Legacy: Jonelle Polk McCloud: Teaching Life Lessons Through Basketball
The Education of Morris Virgil
Govoner Vaughn: Illinois's Groundbreaking Star
Moe Gardner: Helping Scholars Study the African Diaspora
Former Fighting Illini star Jonelle Polk McCloud will forever be grateful to the game of basketball. Without that bouncy orange sphere, she says her life may not have led her on a journey where today she's able to make a genuine impact in shaping the lives of young girls.
"To me, if you're good at it, basketball is a means of getting what you want," McCloud said. "The game has provided me with so many wonderful opportunities. It has taken me to some amazing places around the world and it provided me with a free education."
As the manager of Peoria's Proctor Recreation Center for the past 12 years, McCloud coordinates an after-school program that services more than 50 kids every day.
Statistics reveal that a sizeable number of children are most vulnerable and unsupervised from 3-to-6 p.m., the period between when they arrive home from school and their parents come home from work.
"My goal at Proctor is to provide a safe after-school place for young people that's filled with recreational activities and even a place to do their homework," McCloud said.
Through the urging of parents, she began the Journey to Empowerment through Motivation and Self-Esteem basketball program in 2006, better known by its acronym J.E.M.S. Along with fellow coaches Holly Nelson, Darren Thompson and Roosevelt Owens, McCloud's efforts go well beyond the 3,000-square-foot borders of the court.
"Our goal is to empower young ladies by using basketball," she said. "We're trying to motivate young girls to become better women as they grown up."
J.E.M.S. has ultimately produced a number of college basketball players, including Kourtney Crane and Maary Lakes of Chicago State, and Colby Hughes of Wiley College in Marshall Texas.
"When you're into basketball, you're in it, but it's really for afterwards," McCloud said. "When you're learning about discipline and getting a job and getting up and going to work every day, that's what sports teaches you."
Jonelle Polk became Illinois women's basketball's career scoring and rebounding leader.
McCloud inherited her 6-foot-3-inch frame from her parents, James and Patricia Polk. By the age of eight, she was already taller than her teacher.
"Because I was tall, people expected me to play basketball," McCloud said. "There was a girl in the sixth grade who wrote in my book, 'You're no good in basketball, but good luck anyway.' I wish I could see her now."
As a 6-1 freshman at Peoria Manual High School, she admits that she was trying not to play basketball just because she was tall. But when Coach Dennis Brown spotted her in the hallway, he shouted six words in her direction: "I'll see you at practice tonight."
"At that point," McCloud said, "I had no choice."
Jonelle went on to rewrite major portions of Manual High's record book, averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds in four seasons with the Rams. Her mailbox bulged with college recruiting letters and, in the end, she melted her choices to DePaul, Arizona and Illinois. At the urging of then Illini assistant coach Cheryl Burnett, the high school star decided on the Orange and Blue.
Wearing jersey No. 24, McCloud made her mark at Illinois, setting Illini career records for points (1,984) and rebounds (933). The math and economics major loved her experience in Champaign-Urbana.
McCloud was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009.
"They treated us like royalty, as far as I was concerned," McCloud said. "Dr. Karol Kahrs, who was a real advocate for women's athletes, was ahead of her time. Some of the things that we received I thought everyone was receiving at other schools. But when I went to coach at other schools, I found out that wasn't the case."
McCloud played professionally in Europe before beginning her coaching career back in the states. She served as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois and earned a master's degree in physical education. During a stint at Florida State, she met her eventual husband, Daniel. They then moved back to Jonelle's home in Peoria where she became an assistant at Bradley University.
The couple has two daughters. Jonae is a senior at Missouri, studying graphic design and IT. She's currently interning with the Mizzou football team where she helps with their graphic design. In November, Jaida, the McCloud's youngest daughter, received a basketball scholarship from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
(Front) Jonelle and Daniel McCloud and (back) daughters Jaida and Jonae.
McCloud, a member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, embraces her parents for their steadfast support and direction.
"I know they're not famous, but I've been so blessed that they were able to raise my sister and I the right way," she said. "They're the backbone of where I come from."
Follow Jonelle Polk McCloud on Twitter @JemsBasketball
