What’s next for Kentucky recruit Skyy Clark? ‘BBN has got nothing to worry about.’

The first July evaluation period in two years was only a day old when some devastating news hit the grassroots basketball circuit.

Skyy Clark, the lone Kentucky commitment for the class of 2022 and one of the brightest stars in high school basketball, had been sidelined with a knee injury. That announcement came July 9, just as college coaches were getting back on the AAU recruiting trail for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic brought a pause to all recruiting activities from March 2020 to last month.

Clark — a 6-foot-2 point guard and a five-star prospect in the 2022 class — had been looking forward to playing with his Mokan Elite squad on the Nike EYBL circuit after missing out on a summer basketball schedule last year, only to suffer the same fate again in 2021. This time, due to injury.

Still, Clark and his family made the trip to North Augusta, S.C., last week to check out the Nike games. His future coach, John Calipari, was there with the rest of the UK coaching staff starting Friday for July’s second evaluation period, and the Nike event will continue this week, culminating with the Peach Jam finals — and college coaches back in the gym — this weekend.

Kenny Clark, the UK recruit’s father, spoke to the Herald-Leader from the Nike gym over the weekend and expressed optimism in his son’s long-term outlook on the basketball court.

Clark’s dad said the future Wildcat suffered a partially torn ACL and meniscus and will undergo surgery for the injury this week. He has no history of knee problems, and this injury happened when he stumbled during five-on-five workouts and his leg locked up as he tried to catch his balance. “A freak accident,” his father said.

Doctors have told the family that Skyy should be back at 100 percent in six months.

“He’ll be on the road to recovery,” his father told the Herald-Leader. “BBN has got nothing to worry about. … He’s not letting that injury slow him down. He’ll attack it like he attacks anything in life.”

Clark’s dad said the family is still planning to move this summer to Florida, where Clark and his younger brother, ZZ Clark — a promising guard in the 2024 class — are set to be part of the defending national champions at Montverde Academy.

The estimated recovery timetable would have Skyy fully healed by late January — leaving a few more weeks on the high school basketball schedule — but it’s still unclear whether he will actually be able to play for Montverde this coming season.

“We won’t put him out there unless he’s 100 percent healthy. No setbacks,” his dad said. “Because he has to be ready to come in at Kentucky and play.”

Clark’s father added that the family was impressed with the access to medical facilities and post-surgery physical therapy that Skyy will receive at Montverde, which, on the court, is expected to once again boast one of the top rosters in the country. This past season, Clark played for Brentwood Academy in Nashville, putting up big numbers before opting out of the last part of the season due to COVID-19 issues. He committed to UK last fall and is considered the No. 13 overall player in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

Preparing for Kentucky basketball

While Clark was obviously looking forward to competing for a Peach Jam title this week and hoping to lead Montverde to another national championship this coming high school season, the focus now is on getting ready to make an immediate impact as a Kentucky Wildcat next year.

His father, a former college football standout who later played professionally, said that Kentucky’s coaches have been checking on them every day since they found out about Clark’s injury.

“They’ve been very supportive. It changes nothing with them,” he said. “Coach Cal told me, ‘Kenny, I know you’ve got it handled.’ They’ve been checking in every day, just checking in on him, making sure he’s good mentally and everything. And he actually is great mentally. He’s taking this as a challenge. He’s excited for this process.

“You would never think anything happened. It didn’t faze him at all. He knows — it’s sports, it happens. Those freak injuries happen. One thing about it is, my son — he’s a warrior, and he’s going to come back and push himself to be better than he was before.”

Before the surgery this week, the Clarks are getting a chance to see some other top players in the 2022 class — possible teammates for Skyy when he gets to UK — with ZZ also playing on the Nike circuit.

Clark’s father said Skyy keeps in regular contact with other five-star players in the 2022 class, noting that he’s trying to get more star players on board for the Wildcats’ 2022-23 season. Asked if any of his son’s peers were standing out in early Nike action, Kenny Clark said shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe was “freaking amazing,” added that point guard Jaden Bradley had been playing really well, and then brought up the Team Final duo of Jalen Duren and Dereck Lively II.

“The Team Final guys — do I even have to speak about them?” he said with a laugh. “They’re amazing.”

The elder Clark also mentioned that he was impressed with Texas 7-footer Vince Iwuchukwu, who is No. 24 in the 247Sports composite rankings and will also be transferring to Montverde for this coming season. Sharpe, Bradley, Duren and Lively all have UK scholarship offers, and the Cats have been linked to Iwuchukwu on and off over the past few months.

It’s likely that Clark will cross paths with some of these players in Lexington this fall. The family took an official visit to UK last month and will return to town in October for Big Blue Madness, which has become a key date on the Kentucky recruiting calendar.

Clark will be about halfway through his estimated recovery timetable by the time Madness weekend rolls around. The missed opportunities of this summer and the coming season are tough to bear, but Clark and his family are looking toward a brighter basketball future.

“It gives his body a chance to heal and rest up and come back 100 percent. And he’s got bigger goals in mind,” his dad said. “It does suck. But it’s just one of those things. Adversity is part of life, and it makes you a man — how you deal with adversity. This is just one of those things in life that is going to make him better. We’re not hanging our heads.”

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