2019 Spalding Hoophall Classic

Ahead of Hoophall Classic, Terrence Clarke Talks Kentucky, UConn, Syracuse

Ahead of Hoophall Classic, Terrence Clarke Talks Kentucky, UConn, Syracuse

At 6-foot-6 and 180 pounds, Terrence Clarke already looks like a prototypical NBA wing, but he's still only a sophomore in high school.

Jan 16, 2019 by Adam Zagoria
Ahead of Hoophall Classic, Terrence Clarke Talks Kentucky, UConn, Syracuse

At 6-foot-6 and 180 pounds, Terrence Clarke already looks like a prototypical NBA wing, but he's still only a sophomore in high school.

Clarke is ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2021 after transferring to national power Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, from the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. Clarke and Brewster will be on display Sunday, Jan. 20, at the 2019 Spalding Hoophall Classic when they face the Montverde Academy Center for Basketball Development (CBD) of Montverde, Florida, at 12:30 p.m. FloHoops will live stream seven of the eight games that day.

WATCH THE 2019 SPALDING HOOPHALL CLASSIC LIVE ON FLOHOOPS, JAN. 17-21

Clarke plays on a team that features a slew of high-major Division I commits in Jalen Lecque (N.C. State), Anthony Walker (Miami), Joel Brown (Cal) and Alonzo Gaffney (Ohio State), which helps him prepare for what's ahead. Lecque is eligible for the 2019 NBA Draft, but has yet to decide what his plans are.

"Jalen just pushes me every day," Clarke said Sunday after going for 17 points and four rebounds as Brewster fell to Westtown School of West Chester, Pennsylvania, in the Empire Invitational in the Bronx. "He just teaches me how to fix my body language and just play hard in games and practices. That's like a big brother to me on the team right now, especially with guys like Joel and Alonzo, they really push me a lot."

As far as recruiting, Clarke holds offers from N.C. State, Indiana, UConn, Syracuse, Georgetown, Georgia Tech and Rutgers, among others. He said he grew up watching blue bloods like Kentucky and Duke, as well as Memphis.

Clarke visited Kentucky in October for Big Blue Madness when they also had 2020s R.J. Hampton, Jalen Johnson, Jaemyn Brakefield and A.J. Hoggard and 2021s J.T. Thor and Joshua Primo.

"It was pretty good, I was definitely stunned by everything," Clarke said.

He said Kentucky coach John Calipari "thinks I can be a very good play-maker and facilitator as a 6-foot-6 guard, but I can also score the basketball. He thinks the main thing for me is what everybody else says, my body language and just playing hard every game."

As for a potential Kentucky offer he said, "Any school that offers me I'll be delighted and grateful."

UConn head coach Dan Hurley and assistant Kimani Young were also on hand Sunday for Clarke and 2019 commits Jalen Gaffney and James Bouknight. Current Rhode Island assistant Ty Boswell, who worked under Hurley at the A-10 school, coached Clarke with the Nike EYBL Expressions Elite.

"They've been involved since URI, Dan Hurley," Clarke said. "He's definitely been on me a lot. Dan [being] there, I know he's there for Jalen.

"Two of my good friends are Jalen Adams and Christian Vital," he added. "Jalen Adams is from Roxbury, that's close to me, and he was one of my bigger brothers from Boston and really influenced me to keep pursuing basketball."

Syracuse has also been involved.

"Syracuse has been on me. I went to their Elite Camp in the fall," Clarke said. "I definitely talked to [head coach Jim] Boeheim for a little. He said he liked my game a lot."

Clarke figures to add many more offers going forward, but he's not focused on recruiting right now.

"My main focus is trying to win a national championship," he said. 


Adam Zagoria is a basketball insider who runs ZAGSBLOG.com and contributes to The New York Times. Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamZagoria.