Kentucky got an expected verbal commitment from Terrence Clarke Saturday and now all coach John Calipari has to do is wait to see whether he will be on campus in 2020 or 2021.
Clarke, a top five player no matter what class he is in, had been seen as a Kentucky lean for some time and is the kind of high ranked recruiting target Calipari has missed on the last few years.
“John Calipari has not had a guard like him since he has been at Kentucky,” said David Sisk, Rivals.com recruiting analyst for Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Minnesota sites.
Think about some of the guards that Calipari has had — John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight, DeAaron Fox, Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray, Malik Monk, Devin Booker and Tyler Herro — when you consider Sisk’s evaluation of Clarke.
“John Wall would be the closest thing, but Terrence Clarke is a better shooter. He has all of the tools and God-given ability,” Sisk said.
Wall was the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2010 NBA draft after one year at UK and is a five-time NBA All-Star. For Sisk to say Wall is the “closest thing” to Clark is lofty praise but Clarke’s highlights are sensational and makes it seem he has no weakness. Sisk says he has one — at times.
“His area of need would be to improve his outside shooting consistency. It isn’t bad right now, but it isn’t a day in and day out trait either,” Sisk said. “Take the (Nike) EYBL for example. In 13 games in the spring he made 22 of 65 three pointers for 33.8 percent. In the Peach Jam in July he was only 1 for 22.
“That almost looks like a typo. If he can make that part of his game a strength, then he will be great for years to come.”
Some believe he could play in college now, one reason he’s working to reclassify from the 2021 class to the 2020 class where he would join a UK class that already has commitments from five-star guard B.J. Boston and four-star forwards Lance Ware and Cam’Ron Fletcher.
Sisk says he has no doubts that Clarke will be ready physically to play college basketball next season now that he has made it clear he intends to be in college next year father than staying in the 2021 recruiting class.
“He was a physical specimen in the EYBL even though he was playing up a year. He’s bigger and stronger right now that either B.J. Boston or Jalen Green,” Sisk said.
Boston, a UK commit, is a top 10 player in the 2020 recruiting class and Green, another guard, is a top five player. That’s another impressive comparison for Clarke.
Sisk isn’t sure why Calipari has been able to close the deal with more players sooner this year than he has in recent years. Kentucky could also add another commitment or two in the next few months.
“It seems this year that Calipari zeroed in on some kids that sincerely wanted to be Wildcats,” Sisk said. “I was told back in the spring that Boston would be a summer commit. There were thoughts that Lance Ware would commit the minute he got the offer. Terrence Clarke has been considered a Kentucky man since day one.”
Sisk has heard rumblings about another top player — five-star forward Isaiah Jackson, who took a recent official visit to UK.
“I hear some of the same things about Isaiah Jackson (being a Kentucky man),” Sisk said. “The coaches have identified players that want to be here.”
