Terrence Clarke is next in a long line of Kentucky Wildcats to enter the NBA Draft, as he made it official today.
#Blessed pic.twitter.com/TDmKqFcnDG
— Terrence Clarke (@terrenceclarke_) March 19, 2021
The 6-7, 190-pound freshman came into Kentucky ranked as the No. 8 overall recruit by the 247Sports Composite Rankings after reclassifying to play this season. While Clarke showed glimpses of his talent, he missed most of the season due to ankle injury that kept him from late December until the SEC Tournament.
In eight games this year, Clarke averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game while splitting duties between the one through three positions. He shot 42% from the floor, including an abysmal 22% from three and 47% from the stripe.
Clarke and BJ Boston were expected to be Kentucky’s stars this season, but they ended up being busts as freshmen. Clarke’s season may have ended up going differently had he not been injured, but regardless, he left a lot to be desired.
Clarke’s potential is sky high, but he just wasn’t able to showcase in his short time in Lexington. Some NBA team is going to get a steal as the freshman guard is currently projected to get picked sometime in the second round of the draft.
247 Sports’ Jerry Meyer has compared Clarke to Josh Jackson in the past, but he better fits the mold of a Tyreke Evans type of player. As mentioned above, Clarke ran the point at times, as well as playing shooting guard and small forward. His inability to shoot the ball is worrisome, but there’s no reason to believe that can’t improve.
Moreover, Clarke’s length and athleticism is hard to find and his shooting form isn’t exactly broke. He’ll have a long way to go and a lot of improvements to make, but I’m confident he can be a solid NBA contributor.
It would have been nice to have him back, but we wish Terrence the best of luck nonetheless.