‘A brutal experience.’ Death of a player an aching sorrow forever remembered.
Stunning disbelief. Then aching resignation. The grieving process is still in the early stages for Kentucky basketball after the shocking news that Terrence Clarke died in a car crash Thursday afternoon in the Los Angeles area.
Clarke, a freshman on UK’s team this past season, was working out in Southern California in preparation for this year’s NBA Draft.
Here is a brief sampling of three reactions to his death.
#PlayFor5: Todd Quarles coached Clarke in AAU basketball. On Friday, he texted his reaction to his former player’s death. It read:
“The outpouring of grief and mourning for Terrence Clarke over the last 24 hours is a testament to who he was. His smile would grab your attention. His personality would pull you in. He was a people person. He wanted others to succeed as much as he wanted it for himself.
“His dream of playing in the NBA was right around the corner. He made his mom so proud. The things he did while in an Expressions uniform will be hard to match.
“He meant so much for the city of Boston. Every kid in New England with a basketball dream looked up to him.
“I will cherish all the great memories of TClarke forever.
“And we will always #PlayFor5.”
Rest in peace: Former UK assistant coach Tony Barbee learned of Clarke’s death as he was traveling to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to be introduced as Central Michigan’s new coach on Friday.
The exhilaration of being a head coach again gave way to “an extreme low,” he said.
When asked to share his thoughts about coaching Clarke, Barbee said, “The obvious is the extreme basketball talent. But he was a caring kid who was fun-loving. He loved his teammates. They loved him.
“May Terrence rest in peace. May things get better for his family because I know they’re really struggling. But we all are who knew Terrence so well.”
The worst thing: Mississippi State scheduled a Friday teleconference in order to promote the team’s potential to do well next season. But before fielding a question from Lexington, Ben Howland wanted to know how UK basketball and its fans were handling the tragedy.
“I feel horrible for the kid and his family,” the Mississippi State coach said.
Howland has experienced the aching sorrow that comes when a college player suddenly dies. When he was 37 and a second-year coach at Northern Arizona, one of his players died in a car crash.
“That was the worst thing I ever had to go through in my coaching career …,” said Howland, who will be 64 on May 28.
The player, Brad Snyder, was a 6-foot-6 junior forward. He was averaging 14.5 points per game.
After an overtime victory over Idaho State on Feb. 19, 1995, Snyder was driving to Phoenix on Interstate 17.
According to a story in the Spokane, Wash., newspaper, The Spokesman-Review, Snyder swerved left to avoid an object or animal in the road, then over-corrected to the right and went off the road. The car flipped twice. Snyder, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown about 90 feet from the car. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
“A brutal experience” is how Howland recalled dealing with the death of a player.
“You pray about it,” he said. “It just makes no sense. I really feel for (Clarke) and his family. It’s just awful.”
Why transfer?
An easy assumption to make is that the lack of playing time drives college players to transfer. While that’s surely a reason, there are SEC players looking to transfer this year who logged plenty of minutes.
Xavier Pinson started all 25 games and averaged 25.9 minutes (fourth most on the team) for Missouri last season. He transferred to LSU.
Only one Vanderbilt player averaged more minutes than Dylan Disu’s 31.6. He’s looking to transfer.
Noah Locke averaged 29 minutes (second on the team). Yet he transferred from Florida to Louisville.
Perhaps most at odds with the idea of a cause-and-effect tied to playing time is point guard Sahvir Wheeler. He led Georgia in minutes (34.8 per game), scoring (14.0 points) and assists (7.4). Yet he, too, wants to transfer.
Jerry Meyer, a recruiting analyst for 247Sports, suggested that reasons to transfer extend beyond playing time. Not speaking about any specific player, he suggested one alternative is “the reality of not liking your role on a team and wanting to break out to a bigger role. Bigger in that you get to touch the ball more and have plays run for you.”
That might be the case more than ever given the NCAA is expected to permit one-time transfers without the requirement to sit out a season.
“I’m not saying it’s right or wrong,” Meyer said of the many players looking to change teams. “But if you don’t have to sit out a year, there are a lot of valid reasons to transfer.”
Why UK?
Kyle Macy said he transferred from Purdue to Kentucky because the promise of playing time he heard as a recruit was not fully realized in his freshman season. He also said he wondered about how firm a hand the Purdue coach had on the players.
Heshimu Evans said he transferred from Manhattan to Kentucky because Manhattan Coach Fran Fraschilla was leaving for the job at St. John’s.
Derek Anderson cited multiple reasons for his transfer from Ohio State to Kentucky. The likelihood of NCAA penalties for recruiting violations hung over the Ohio State program. Two teammates transferred earlier. And …
“I tore my ACL in February,” he said. “I was going to have to rest anyway.”
Transfer comparisons
Chris Harry, the senior writer for Floridagators.com, recently did a comparison of college statistics accumulated by four Florida players who entered the transfer portal after the season with the four transfers joining the Gators next season.
The four exiting — Noah Locke, Omar Payne, Ques Glover and Osayi Osifo — played a total of 227 college games in a combined eight seasons. They started a collective 94 games, played 4,144 minutes, scored 1,323 points and grabbed 462 rebounds.
The four joining — Brandon McKissic (University of Missouri-Kansas City), Phlandrous Fleming (Charleston Southern), Myreon Jones (Penn State) and CJ Felder (Boston College) — have played 338 college games in a combined 13 seasons. They started a collective 255 games, played 9,128 minutes, scored 3,881 points and grabbed 1,355 rebounds.
While trying to resist the urge to write that Phlandrous Fleming is transferring to Phlorida, let’s compare stats of the two transfers exiting Kentucky with the two (so far) joining the UK team for next season.
The two leaving — Devin Askew and Cam’Ron Fletcher — played a total of 34 college games in a combined two seasons. They started in a collective 21 games, played 782 minutes, scored 178 points and grabbed 79 rebounds.
The two joining — Oscar Tshiebwe and Kellan Grady — have played a total of 156 college games in a combined six seasons. They’ve started a collective 154 games, played 5,038 minutes, scored 2,435 points and grabbed 834 rebounds.
Remembering ‘Fluff’
Alabama has set a plan to honor the late Cameron Luke Ratliff, a fan better known as “Fluffopotamus” or “Fluff.” He died on April 2 at age 23 reportedly because of COVID-19 complications.
A gift fund has been established to help students with travel expenses associated with road games and events.
To further remember Ratliff, the president of a student section affectionately known as the Crimson Chaos will be given a plaid jacket to wear at games. Ratliff wore a plaid jacket at games. And a plaque will be affixed to the seat Ratliff sat in at home games. That seat will be reserved for Crimson Chaos presidents.
Those wishing to donate to the Luke “Fluffopotamus” Ratliff Memorial Gift Fund should visit uactf.org/fluff.
Happy birthday
To Ryan Harrow. He turned 30 on Thursday. … To Matt Haarms. The big one that got away turned 24 on Thursday. … To Fred Cowan. He turned 63 on Friday. … To Bob McCowan. He turned 72 on Friday. … To Ernie Grunfeld. The player who got second billing in Tennessee’s “Bernie and Ernie Show” turned 66 on Saturday. … To Dillon Pulliam. He turns 26 on Sunday (today). … To Todd Bearup. He turns 54 on Sunday (today). … To former UK assistant coach David Hobbs. He turns 72 on Sunday (today). … To NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. He turns 59 on Sunday (today). … To Bob Tallent. He turns 75 on Monday. … To LeRon Ellis. He turns 52 on Wednesday.
