Five-star basketball recruit narrows list of schools. Kentucky remains major favorite.
One of Kentucky’s top basketball targets has taken the next step in his recruitment.
Five-star combo guard Skyy Clark — the most recent recipient of a UK scholarship offer — announced Friday that he has narrowed his list of college options to eight schools: Kentucky, Memphis, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, Southern Cal, Tennessee State and UCLA.
Clark — a 6-foot-3 prospect in the 2022 class — recently moved from Los Angeles to Nashville following a sophomore season in which he averaged 25.5 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.5 steals despite being the focus of opposing defenses. Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 16 overall recruit in the 2022 class, and he has established himself as one of the top backcourt players in the country.
Kentucky has emerged as the clear favorite in his recruitment.
As of Friday, there are a total of 14 predictions on Clark’s Rivals.com FutureCast and 247Sports Crystal Ball pages, and every one of them is in favor of the Wildcats, including picks from national recruiting experts Eric Bossi, Corey Evans and Jerry Meyer.
“I think it’s definitely Kentucky’s to lose,” Evans told the Herald-Leader recently, noting that Clark could be due for a bump in the rankings after making impressive progress in his game over the past few months.
Clark, who turned 17 years old last month, remains open to the possibility of reclassification into the 2021 class, which would allow him to play college basketball next season. He is planning to take the necessary courses to fulfill his high school graduation requirements during the upcoming school year.
The Herald-Leader was told this week that Friday’s list cut could be a prelude to Clark’s college commitment, and that decision could come as early as this month. If that happens, Kentucky would likely be the landing spot. A final decision on reclassification is not expected so soon.
Clark, a savvy playmaker who can also excel off the ball with his outside range and overall shot-making abilities, has repeatedly said that he wouldn’t mind teaming up with another highly touted point guard in college.
If he does reclassify to 2021, he could join a Kentucky team that returns five-star freshman Devin Askew, who is expected to be the team’s starting point guard this season. The Wildcats are also recruiting junior point guard Jaden Bradley heavily, and he could form a formidable backcourt duo with Clark if they both decided to stay in the ‘22 class.
Clark remains the only player in the country to land a scholarship offer from UK Coach John Calipari during the NCAA’s ongoing ban on in-person recruiting activities, put in place due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19. Those recruiting limitations were enacted in March, and the travel ban currently extends through the end of this month, though it is expected to be extended even further, likely through the end of the calendar year.
Kentucky’s coaches hosted Clark and his family for their recruiting visit to Lexington in February, and Kenny Clark, the player’s father, has told the Herald-Leader that they expect to be back in town regularly once the NCAA’s in-person recruiting ban is lifted.
The first visit left a great impression on the Clark family.
“Oh, yeah, it’s all blue and white over there. And those fans are real fans,” Kenny Clark told the Herald-Leader. “They knew who Skyy was. Even walking through the game, through the arena and everything — they wanted to take pictures with him. They know Kentucky basketball. It was a great town.”
