KSU's Clemente on the YouTube shot, Kansas rivalry and the Big 12

The latest subject of our Hoops Q&A series is Kansas State's Denis Clemente, a 6-foot-1 senior guard from Bayamon, Puerto Rico. He played his first two seasons at Miami, then transferred to K-State after being dismissed from the Hurricanes in 2007. Last season he led the Wildcats in scoring (15.0 points per game) and assists (3.5 per game) as they finished 21-12 and fell just short of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The following is an edited transcript of our conversation:

Luke Winn: You got Internet Famous this summer for your absurd trick shot off the backboard, off the floor, and in. [See the YouTube below.] How many tries did it take you to make that?

Denis Clemente: My first time when I did it, it took me only until my second chance. When we had the video camera on, it took me like 30 minutes.

LW: After the shot goes in, your teammate who's holding the camera, Victor Ojeleye, yells, "Let's go! Let's go, boy! I see you, boy!" Not exactly "Do you believe in miracles?" What's your feeling on the quality of his commentary?

DC: I mean, I was so excited I had no idea what he was going to say. It took us 30 minutes of taping! I was starting to get upset, asking myself, "Why can't I make this shot anymore?" And so when I finally did, we all went crazy.

LW: Where did the idea for the shot come from?

DC: We were just playing H-O-R-S-E that day and I tried to make something up. I looked up at the screen [on the scoreboard] and said, "Damn, why can't that happen?"

LW: If I played H-O-R-S-E against you, what else would you try?

DC: I've made two full-court shots -- from the out-of-bounds line on the other side -- in a row. I thought that was impossible.

LW: I heard a rumor this summer that you'd been offered a pro contract in Puerto Rico and at least considered accepting it and skipping your senior year at Kansas State. How much truth was there to that?