Terrence Clarke is likely out at least another four weeks with an ankle injury. (UK Athletics Photo)
Terrence Clarke has not played in a Southeastern Conference game and his last appearance was Dec. 26 when he failed to score or get a rebound against Louisville one week after injuring his ankle. Every week the update about Clarke was vague but the hope remained that he not only could play again but would be the spark UK desperately needed even if he only averaged 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 31.3 minutes per game. He also shot 43 percent from the field but only 22.7 percent from 3-point range and 47.1 percent at the foul line.
But on his weekly radio show Monday night Kentucky coach John Calipari said the freshman would miss the next four weeks because of the ankle injury.
“Terrence wants to play so bad, we want him to play, I want him to play. I want to coach him and get him on that court,” Calipari said on his show. “There were tears today, his and mine.
“His tears were, it looks as though they want him out four weeks. Maybe something can happen sooner, but they don’t believe so. It’s crushing to these kids. When we had Keion (Brooks Jr.) out, I had to follow the docs, you know me well enough.”
Calipari followed that with a message for UK fans knowing many had questioned why Clarke had been out for so long.
“Here’s one thing I want to tell the fans again. They know their pain, they know their pain threshold,” Calipari said. “We were, again, in a situation, they (doctors) said he was going to be able to try it. I said, ‘He’s been out a ton. How’s this going to work?’ And bang.”
Kentucky (5-12) hosts Arkansas tonight and needs a jolt of energy and production. Instead, the Cats now know there’s almost no chance Clarke will play in an SEC game.
“Stuff’s not fair. But this stuff that we’re dealing with, none of this is fair,” Calipari said. “I’ve probably got people listening to this saying, ‘I lost my job.’
“We’ve got kids that parents are trying to get them in school and they’re having to stay home to watch their kids. It’s not fair and it’s no one’s fault. It’s just not fair.”
No, it is not and that’s why Calipari says faith is important.
“Not to throw my religion at anybody, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to believe that good stuff is out there and it’s coming,” Calipari said. “You’ve got to believe things happen for a reason. A lot of times we’re thrown curveballs and unbelievable struggles, a lot of times it’s to see how we deal with it.”
Calipari is worried about Clarke the person and not Clarke the player now.
“It’s like your career is flashing before your eyes,” Calipari said. “Yes, we don’t have our best player playing, we haven’t for a while. He’s obviously been hurting for a long time before he stepped off the court where it was like, ‘This ain’t gonna work.’
“Say a prayer for him. Every day I look at him, I say, ‘How are you feeling? How are you?’ You worry about mental health in all these situations, but especially with something like that.”
Keion Brooks missed UK’s first seven games with his own injury. The sophomore understands what Clarke is facing mentally and emotionally as well as physically.
After Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, Brooks was asked what he had been trying to do to help Clarke.
“I’m just trying to put my hands around him, my arms around him, tell him I love him and I understand what he is going through. I know he is chomping at the bit to get out here and play with us,” Brooks said.
“I know it’s extremely difficult when you have a feeling of helplessness when you know you can’t go out there and impact the game or do some stuff to help your teammates out.”
Brooks also said then it was “between God and the medical staff” when Clarke would play again.
“I’m just praying that he has a speedy recovery, but also, I don’t want him to be rushed back where he could possibly injure himself more. I want him to get healthy, fully recover, and play when the time is right for him,” Brooks said Saturday.
Monday night we found out that won’t be any time soon and likely not at all at UK since the odds are Clarke is going to turn pro when the season ends.
