The Boston Centers for Youth and Families Vine Street Community Center was Terrence Clarke's home court in the truest sense.
The budding basketball superstar spent years working on his game in the community center's gym, eventually taking his skills to a spot on the University of Kentucky's men's basketball team.
It was at Kentucky where he declared for the NBA Draft, but he never got that chance. Clarke died after a car accident in April before he ever stepped foot on an NBA court. He was 19.
His death is still reverberating through Boston half a year on, but his life is being celebrated, too. On Sunday, the city, the Celtics, New Balance, Klutch Sports Group and the NBA unveiled the Terrence Clarke Memorial Court at BCYF Vine Street, renovated and renamed in Clarke’s honor.
Celtics staff and players ran local children through basketball drills to christen the court for the next generation of hoopers. Local figures came out to pay their respects to Clarke’s legacy, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, NBA star John Wall and Celtics players Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, Aaron Nesmith and Jaylen Brown.
Brown and Clarke had grown especially close. Speaking to the crowd of community members at the event, Brown called it an emotional moment.
"A saying that we like to say in our family is that energy lasts forever," he said. "And as long as we keep to uphold his name and speak his name in high spirits, Terrence is still alive. And we're going to continue to honor him in the way that he needs to be honored."
Today we dedicate the newly renovated court at @BCYFcenters Vine Street to the memory and legacy of Terrence Clarke #LLTC5 pic.twitter.com/peR0mCjdHa
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 21, 2021
Brown described Clarke as the little brother he never had. He recalled Clarke seemingly always hanging out at his house, where he'd play video games and go through his closet. He presented Clarke's mother, Osmine, with a piece of the Celtics' famous parquet on behalf of the team.
"As long as us Celtics players — me, Jayson, Smart, Aaron — is here, Terrence is one of us. So a piece of him is with the Celtics as well," he said. "So we wanted to give a piece of the parquet to symbolize the piece that lives in all of us."
Osmine said having the gym named in her son's honor meant a lot to her and her family.
"Terrence would be so proud," she said.
David Hinton, who works at BCYF Vine Street and saw Clarke grow up there, said this won't be the end of how the center honors Clarke.
"We're gonna have a lot of things going on and we're going to continue his legacy," he said.
Walking into BCYF Vine Street now, it's hard to miss out on Clarke's presence. A mural of Clarke and a locker room display featuring his jerseys sits immediately inside the lobby entrance.
New basketball hoops, volleyball equipment and re-installed wall padding adorn the court, which stands as a monument to Clarke. A blue heart with a basketball and TC5, representing Clarke's name and number, is painted at center court.
And running along one of the sidelines is a quote from Clarke that now serves as a guide for the young players who will make this their own home court: "I want to be that guy for everyone in the city."
