Clarksville 5-star 2024 guard Imari Berry commits to Clemson basketball over Lady Vols

One of Tennessee's more heavily recruited high school basketball players, Imari Berry, has committed to Clemson. The 5-foot-10 Clarksville High product announced her decision Saturday on Instagram.

Clemson was one of more than 30 schools that offered Berry, including Tennessee, South Carolina, UConn, Louisville, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Berry narrowed her choices to Tennessee and Clemson before deciding on the Tigers, according to her AAU coach, Anja Shelton.

Berry was a four-star shooting guard for much of her sophomore and junior seasons but earned a five-star rating in April and moved up to No. 7 in ESPN's HoopGurlz 2024 recruiting class. She was named The Leaf-Chronicle girls basketball player of the year this past season after averaging 26.1 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals per game. She set a school record for a single-season points total (836).

"The biggest thing with Imari is how unselfish she is as a basketball player," Clarksville coach Brian Rush said. "When you get to that next level, the level at which she'll be playing, being a player that is willing to make those around you better, is a huge advantage."

Berry shot better than 40% from 3-point range, hitting 123 to lead the Wildcats to a 27-5 record as well as District 13-4A and Region 7-4A championships. The two-time Miss Basketball finalist guided Clarksville to its first state tournament appearance since 2017.

She joins a Clemson program that finished 19-16 last season and 7-11 in the ACC. The Tigers won two games in the WNIT before losing to Florida.

"As a coach, I just want her to be happy," Rush said. "She got together with her family and made a decision they felt was best for her, so I'm happy for her."

Berry, a two-time TSSAA all-state standout, earned her first scholarship offer, from Murray State, as an eighth-grader, and was already a national recruit by her freshman season.

She averaged 14.1 points as a freshman and 24.6 points as a sophomore. Her 26 points a game this past season was the highest season scoring average in Montgomery County since 1990, when former Northwest star Kim Brooks averaged 29.1.

Berry ranks second in school history with 1,748 points and is 649 points away from Bashaara Graves' school scoring record. Graves was a 2012 McDonald's All American and former UT star who was selected by the Minnesota Lynx in the 2016 WNBA Draft.

"There are still team goals to be had," Rush said. "But Imari isn't far from a lot of those records, so I'm sure she'll be chasing it next season."

Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinson@theleafchronicle.com and on Twitter @Cville_Sports.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Clemson basketball lands Imari Berry, 5-star guard, over Lady Vols