Wednesday Quickies: Terrence Clarke offered large pro contract

There are some rumblings that Terrence Clarke may consider going the professional route.

By Zac Oakes@ZacOakes Apr 15, 2020, 6:35am EDT

The Kentucky Basketball program has witnessed a mass exodus over the last couple weeks, as the Wildcats lost Johnny Juzang to a transfer, as well as Ashton Hagans, Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley, and Nick Richards to the NBA Draft.

On top of that, EJ Montgomery is likely headed to the draft soon, leaving Kentucky with only Keion Brooks who would be bringing back any game experience at Kentucky. Dontaie Allen will also be back, but he sat out the entire season recovering from preseason injuries.

While the exodus of talent hurts, it’s somewhat mitigated by the fact that Kentucky is bringing in another top-level recruiting class. One of the headliners of that class is wing Terrence Clarke, a top five player in the class.

However, it’s becoming a real possibility that Clarke might be considering playing professionally next season, just as we saw Isaiah Todd announce yesterday. Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones confirmed that Clarke is being recruited to play in the G-League and a former UK assistant is leading the recruitment.

Top Kentucky commitment Terrence Clarke is being recruited to play in the G League

Former UK coach Rod Strickland is the main recruiter trying to convince Clarke and other 2020 recruit to skip college for some big G league contracts

Clarke is apparently one of them
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) April 15, 2020

Travis Graf from Rivals also confirmed that he was hearing that Clarke and Jalen Suggs, another top 2020 prospect who committed to play at Gonzaga, are being recruited to the G-League.

However, Jones has since reported that Kentucky keeping Clarke appears to be the likelier scenario.

Just got a text from a source I trust a lot saying “I still think it is very likely Terrence Clarke goes to Kentucky”
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) April 15, 2020

Now that the G-League is offering players higher salaries, we’ve long wondered if it could become a legitimate alternative for top high school prospects who want to capitalize on their abilities and brand instead of going to college.

It seems that the G-League could be starting to make some waves in enticing high-level high school prospects.

If only the NCAA would wake up and take some action...

Of course nothing is set in stone and Clarke hasn’t said anything, but this is definitely something to keep an eye on over the next few days.

Tweets of the Day

The nature of college basketball is coming to an end and nobody really has anyone to blame other than the NCAA.
— Travis Graf (@TravGraf_Rivals) April 15, 2020

Yep....