Home Court Advantage

Her number 15 basketball jersey hangs in two schools’ halls of fame. Now Tracy Claxton has joined a new team: New Haven’s Liveable City Initiative (LCI). She plays on her home court, the Dwight neighborhood.

On Nov. 28 Claxton traveled to Norfolk, Virginia, with her 15-year-old son Jerrel and her cousin Michael Claxton, a Yale cop, to watch Old Dominion University retire her jersey.

The trip brought back memories of 1985, when Claxton led the Monarchs women’s basketball squad to the national crown and was named MVP in the NCAA Final Four. Jerrel was so excited to hear of his mom’s exploits. ​“He was camcording everything.”

Then Claxton and Jerrel returned to New Haven’s Dwight neighborhood. They not only live there; Claxton has begun working full-time as a trouble-shooter there for LCI, city government’s neighborhoods agency.

Fighting blight and bumping up against illegal dumpers don’t earn her the roars from the stands or the national TV attention that basketball did. But Claxton — who at 43 stands five-foot ten, two inches shorter than when she played forward for the Monarchs (and another two inches shorter than the team claimed she was) — sees similarities between her new mission and her glory days on the court.

She’s on a team again. She has a mission, one that involves working well with teammates throughout city government and on the street. Friendly and outgoing, Claxton loves mixing it up with people. She feels the thrill of hard-earned victory, when illegally dumped trash disappears. She’s learning from her ​“coaches,” LCI chief Andrew Rizzo and deputy Gary Hogan.

And she’s driven to excel. ​“I want to be one of the best,” she said.

The Road to LCI

Claxton grew up in New Haven. At Wilbur Cross she played center on the girls’ basketball squad. She led the team to three state championships. She also set records: most rebounds in a game (45), most points in a game (50, then 54). Today her jersey hangs in the school’s Hall of Fame.

She graduated from Old Dominion in 1985. Professional women’s basketball hadn’t started up yet in this country. An agent from Ireland came to town, took her to Yorkside Pizza, made a pitch. But Claxton decided not to go pro overseas. ​“I felt if I couldn’t play for my own country, I didn’t want to play,” she recalled during an interview Tuesday at the Dwight police substation. ​“I felt it was time for me to go out and get a job like everyone else.”

She found a job at Blue Cross Blue Shield, where she worked her way up to product specialist. Then in 2001 her job was eliminated.

“You know what I learned? No matter how the cards of life are dealt, no job is guaranteed. As long as you have the job, you do the best you can.”

In the meantime, the WNBA started up here in the U.S. Claxton, 33, was a single mom. Relatives offered to care for Jerrel so she could try out. She decided against it. ​“My son is my responsibility,” she concluded. ​“My relatives shouldn’t raise him.”

Victory on Scranton Street

After a part-time stint with the city’s parks and rec (and trees) department, Claxton learned of an opening at LCI for a neighborhood specialist. She landed the job in April.

She was pleased to be assigned to the neighborhood where she has lived for the past 14 years. She knows the court.

She has been learning how government works. She accompanied a cop and a housing inspector to check on a rooming house complaint. She checks in with public works about bulk trash pick-ups. She boned up on zoning ordinances while dealing with junk cars on the Boulevard.

She works with neighbors, too. Apparently, she retained her authoritative courtside manner. When she tells people to take junk piles off the sidewalk and call for a bulk trash pick up, they obey.

For months Claxton tried to track down the owners of contiguous lots on Scranton Street where fires had destroyed the houses. She never caught up with them, but she finally got the vacant lot cleared of junk.

“It might sound corny,” she said. ​“When I got the lot cleaned, I was so excited!”

Memories, Yes. No Regrets

This summer Claxton took her goddaughter Krystal Bryant to Madison Square Garden. Claxton’s old coach from Old Dominion invited them. The coach now works for the New York Liberty.

Goddaughter Krystal plays forward for Career High’s hoops squad. She and Claxton watched the Liberty, met the players, then had dinner with Claxton’s old coach.

Did Claxton feel any regrets when she saw younger women taking advantage of opportunities that eluded her by just a few years?

Not at all, she said, with an immediacy and conviction that leave you with no doubt that she means it.

“I’m so excited for them. I hope they continue to strive,” she said. ​“I had my era. Each generation paves the way for the next.

“No regrets.”

Her son Jerrel attends Career, too. He doesn’t play on the basketball squad. He does play baseball there, and he’s trying out for the swim team.

That makes Claxton proud. Something else makes her prouder.

“He’s an honor student,” she said. ​“That’s first and foremost.”