Despite Terrence Clarke not being on the floor, the Kentucky Wildcats have found their stride in conference play. starting an impressive 3-0.
The team transformation has been something to behold, but unfortunately, Clarke hasn’t had the opportunity to be the floor with his teammates building confidence.
Now the question becomes, what happens when the former five-star and projected lottery returns to the line-up?
Well, we won’t find out in tonight’s showdown with Alabama for first place in the SEC, as Clarke will miss his fourth-straight game due to a lingering ankle issue.
Prior to tipoff, Clarke was seen in street clothes wearing an ankle brace instead of a walking boot. Hopefully that’s a good sign he’s closing in on a return.
Terrence Clarke is no longer in a heavy walking boot, but still wearing an ankle brace and in street clothes. Appears he will be out a fourth consecutive game.
— Jack Pilgrim (@JackPilgrimKSR) January 13, 2021
It’s now been well over two weeks since he’s seen any live game action, and even that was just 16 minutes against Louisville when he was held scoreless. It was clear that the injury was impacting his ability to play at a high level, and clearly the medical folks at UK still believe there is progress to be made before resuming to live action.
You could argue that reintroducing Clarke to the rotation may throttle the emergence of Dontaie Allen and even potentially impact the improvement seen from fellow freshman BJ Boston.
But the bottom line is Terrence Clarke is an incredible talent that could take this team to new levels if he gets to playing his best basketball. In the preseason. fans salivated about the idea of a Boston/Clarke backcourt.
That dynamic duo still has the chance to turn things around, but first, getting healthy is the priority.
If Clarke was to come back at any point and find his groove, the total outlook of this season changes.
Too bad it’s not against the Alabama Crimson Tide in a game that’ll decide first place in the SEC.
Maybe the Cats can keep the magic alive despite missing a key player.
Get well soon, Terrence.