Trenton Hassell is a basketball lifer at 41. And basketball in Clarksville is his life.
Hassell was a star player at Clarksville High School who traveled across town to play his college hoops at Austin Peay. There, he was a three-time First-Team All Ohio Valley Conference selection and was the 2001 OVC player of the year. His #44 jersey is one of seven retired by the school.
He was taken early in the second round of the 2001 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls. He played nine seasons in the NBA with four different teams and was once traded for Greg Buckner, who played at University Heights Academy.
When his NBA career ended in 2010, Hassell returned to Clarksville and was involved in AAU basketball. Hassell is in his first season as head coach of the Clarksville Christian girls’ basketball program.
While at Austin Peay, he met his wife, the former Tiffany McCarley who played basketball at Todd County Central and later for the Lady Governors. One of the players Trenton coaches is his daughter, Lauren, who is a 6-foot-1 sixth grader.
Hassell knows expectations will be high coaching in his hometown and coaching his daughter.
