Last week while laying out B.J. Boston's numbers and significant stats from the '20-21 season we had to mention that he didn't have the kind of freshman season he probably hoped for.
That's true and maybe doubly true for classmate, teammate, and fellow five-star freshman Terrence Clarke, who has also announced that he won't be around for a sophomore season.
While Boston struggled with inconsistency, poor shooting, and a lack of physical development on the court throughout the season, Clarke had on court struggles and an injury that sidelined him for most of the campaign.
Here are Clarke's most telling statistics from the games he did manage to play in.
52.9% ... Clarke's adjusted field goal percentage on spot up attempts. This may have been the bright spot of his season. In spite of shooting a poor number from outside the arc, Clarke was a good jump shooter inside the three-point line. His 0.949 points per possession on spot up attempts was the best thing he did in the few games he participated in.
9.6 ... Points per game for Clarke, who scored a dozen points or more in four of his first five games. While he wasn't taking over those first games of the season, Clarke did possess some athleticism, versatility, and scoring ability that could have perhaps helped UK at times when he was out.
8 ... Clarke managed to play in only eight games due to an injury that became the subject of plenty of rumors. With many suspecting that Clarke was silently opting out of the year, he returned to play in the first round of the SEC Tournament. But in that one game back for the 'Cats he played only 10 minutes, scored two points, and had three assists.
4% ... This may be the most surprising number related to Clarke's season. He ranked in the bottom 4% of players nationally in transition offense, producing just 0.55 points per possession in the open court game. Remember: Small sample size. But you only post a number like that unless something is off. Clarke had a 35% turnover rate in transition, shot 47% from the foul line, and missed a couple of good opportunities. That accounts for it.
2.8 ... Turnovers per game for Clarke. For a guard that might seem high but not bad, but the number really doesn't illustrate how much of a problem it was for him. He had just one turnover apiece in his last two games, when he played a combined 26 minutes. So in Clarke's other six games -- the only games in which he played a lot -- he averaged around 3.2 per game in spite of not being the primary ball handler.
1-7 ... Kentucky's record in the eight games Clarke saw the court. Of course that can't be his responsibility, nor was he the majority shareholder in that. In some of those games he was better than several of his teammates. But after winning the season opener, UK lost the rest of its games before SEC play until Clarke was out, and then lost the one game when he returned.