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Former Illinois Basketball Guard Struggles in Preseason Debut

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Former Illinois Basketball Guard Struggles in Preseason Debut
Nov 11, 2022; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Skyy Clark (55) drives the ball up court against the UMKC Kangaroos (33)during the first half at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Former Illinois Basketball Guard Struggles in Preseason Debut

I just wanted to say that this is not a hate article bashing Skyy Clark. I am just keeping tabs on players who were notably associated with the University of Illinois. Skyy Clark is one of them. The Clark saga did not go the way anyone wanted it to go. After a ton of hype around the former 5-star prospect, Clark was given the reigns to the starting point guard job. Unfortunately, Skyy struggled like most true freshmen would and lost his confidence as he did not bode well with the coaching style of Brad Underwood. There were also multiple rumors that Clark did not mesh well with some of his teammates and caused a lot of chemistry issues for last year’s inconsistent team.

The coaching staff put a lot of eggs into this basket. Reportedly, they passed out on a McDonald All-American guard simply because they felt that Skyy Clark and Jayden Epps were their future. Both of those guards have now moved on from Illinois Basketball

Big Ten to the ACC

Clark transferred from Illinois Basketball halfway through the season. After a rocky couple of games, Skyy abruptly left the program due to some personal issues. He then committed to the Louisville Cardinals right after Illinois lost their March Madness game against Arkansas. The California native made his debut with the Cardinals tonight against Simmons College. The team won, however, Skyy Clark did have some struggles. The guard went 2-10 from the field and 1-6 from the 3-point line for 8 points. Positively, he put up 6 assists.

Clark will be the starting point guard for a Louisville team that is hoping to bounce back from a historically bad year under Kenny Payne. The former Illinois Basketball guard will once again have the reigns to the point guard position. Jayden Epps put up a monster 46 points in his Georgetown debut in a secret scrimmage, however Skyy Clark struggled heavily against a Division II school. Though there is no hate from here, it will be interesting to see how the two former Illini do in their new situations.



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