California basketball star is a coveted national recruit. And ‘Kentucky has been on it.’
Back in the fall, the father of star basketball recruit Skyy Clark said that a visit to Rupp Arena for a Kentucky home game was a “bucket list” item for the family.
So, it was no surprise when Clark set up a trip for Wednesday night’s UK-Vanderbilt game, his first chance to see Lexington and get a better feel for one of the premier programs on his list.
It turns out that visit won’t be happening, but it has nothing to do with decreased interest on either side of the recruitment. Quite the opposite.
“We were so excited to come out there that we didn’t even know his high school team played on (January) 28th and 30th,” Kenny Clark, the recruit’s father, told the Herald-Leader.
The Clark family is based in Los Angeles, and that obviously made a trip to Lexington for Wednesday night’s game impossible, unless Skyy wanted to miss one of his own games. And that’s not happening for a player who has taken California by storm this season.
Kenny Clark said the family will now visit UK on Feb. 10. There’s no home game that day, but they will get to see the Wildcats practice. They’ll also get to meet with John Calipari and check in with assistant coach Joel Justus, who has made Clark a primary target in the 2022 class, visiting the West Coast multiple times over the past few months to visit with the family.
“We’re just excited to get over there and see the culture and meet with Coach Cal and check in with Coach Justus,” said Clark, who has not been shy in his affinity for the Kentucky program.
It’s looking likely that his son could have a spot on a future UK roster, if he wants it.
Super scorer
Clark was already considered one of the top backcourt players in his class coming into this season, but he’s only elevated his game — and his national standing — with his play this winter.
Games of 30 or more points are a normal occurrence — he’s had about a dozen of those so far — and his average of 25.6 points per game leads all sophomores in the state of California.
Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 18 overall player in the 2022 class.
“He’s a 6-2, quick-twitch guard who can really run a basketball team already,” Rivals analyst Corey Evans told the Herald-Leader. “He’s a great kid — high IQ and all the intangibles. He’s begun to shoot it better. He’s definitely one of the premier point guards in that class, that’s for sure.”
Clark’s father, a former Minnesota Vikings football player, said his son is now up to 6-2 and 190 pounds. He proudly stated that Skyy has been “lights out” as a scorer this season, but that’s not the only part of his game.
“He’s been locking up on defense. He’s been dishing the ball. He’s been rebounding the ball. And he averages about two or three dunks per game. He’s really taken it to a whole other level,” he said. “He’s been focusing more on his jump shot and his IQ. Just staying two steps ahead, and seeing a play develop before it actually happens. He’s studied a lot of Steve Nash, and that’s helped him a lot.”
Nash was a two-time NBA most valuable player and one of the game’s greatest point guards, but Clark was not even a teenager by the time he retired from the league. The father said that one of his friends often sends Clark clips of older players, and Nash’s play stuck out.
“He didn’t even play basketball when Steve Nash was (a star),” he said. “But he’ll see one thing on a highlight that catches his eye. And Skyy just fell in love with Steve Nash. He thinks he is a master of the game, and he’s somebody that he wants to emulate, as far as IQ goes.”
Despite his offensive prowess, Clark isn’t obsessed with being “the guy” on his college team. And while most talented players of his size and skill level want to be the primary point guard, Clark can be just as effective off the ball, and his father said he’d be just fine teaming up with another five-star point guard in the same backcourt. “Whatever is needed,” he said. “He’s just a player.” He noted that Calipari has had a lot of success with such players.
And Evans backed up his point on Skyy’s versatility.
“For sure,” he said. “He’s big. He’s 6-2 and bouncy … He’s definitely someone that can fill a variety of roles in the backcourt.”
Skyy Clark’s recruitment
A stellar sophomore season has been met with earlier-than-expected scholarship offers from some of the nation’s top programs.
UCLA offered in late November, and then Georgetown, Memphis and Michigan all did the same over a short stretch in December. Kansas came through with an offer this month, and it’s becoming clear that Clark will have his pick of schools whenever he’s ready to make a college decision.
“I have to be honest — I didn’t expect all of this so soon,” his father said. “But we’ll take it. It’s good to know that people see what he’s doing, and they’re taking heed to it, and they’re offering accordingly. We’re happy, we’re excited, and we’re extremely proud of him.”
Clark said “it meant the world” to his son that coaches like Penny Hardaway, Patrick Ewing and Juwan Howard — all former NBA standouts — reached out in such a short span to offer him spots at their schools: “It was insane. He just felt like he was a kid in a candy store.”
Kentucky could be among the next wave of offers.
Calipari rarely extends scholarship offers to recruits as young as Clark, but next month’s visit will be a major step in building that relationship, and the California star is sure to be high on the UK coach’s watch list when travel ball begins this spring. There has also been talk of Clark possibly reclassifying to 2021, a class that is relatively lacking with high-quality backcourt recruits. (Any decision on reclassification is likely a long way in the future).
In the meantime, UK is doing everything to stay in the top tier of Clark’s recruitment. His dad texts with Justus after every game, and he promised this will not be his son’s final trip to Lexington.
Expect to see him as a campus visitor a lot more in the future.
“Kentucky has been on it. We stay in contact. We reach out and we talk. … They’ve been doing a great job of staying right there in the fold. We’re excited about them. Trust me. That’s why we’re coming across the country.”
Wednesday
Vanderbilt at Kentucky
When: 6:30 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Vanderbilt 8-11 (0-6 SEC), Kentucky 15-4 (5-1)
Series: Kentucky leads 147-47
Last meeting: Kentucky won 87-62 on Jan. 29, 2019, at Nashville, Tenn.
