"[Harvard] always had their eye on me, I think." Clemente said. "They were recruiting me, but I never really took it seriously. I was going to go to St. Louis, and you know I was just gonna sign my scholarship and go."

However, a higher authority intervened.

"My dad was really pushing Harvard, and I think I made a decision beyond my years," Clemente said. "I think I definitely made the right decision."

Clemente arrived on the Harvard campus in the fall of 1997, and while he didn't get to start immediately, he knew he would eventually. In fact, the prep school league in which he had played was known for having Division I caliber players, so Clemente wasn't worried about his game.

His freshman year, the team went 6-8 in the Ivy League, but Clemente did better, picking up the Rookie of the Year award. The 1997-98 season also marked the first Clemente injury, a sprained ankle that kept him from four games.

"I was on that team with Tim Hill '99 and Mike Scott '98, and they were really supportive of me," Clemente said. "I think they saw I could play a little bit, and they told me to take my shots when I was open. They gave me some confidence."

During the summer before sophomore season, Clemente had sprained his ankle repeatedly. He went to Florida for two weeks before school started to rest and get ready.