ROSEMONT, Ailing. — They’d simply talked the day earlier than, Skyy Clark and his father having certainly one of their normal conversations about life, basketball and no matter else popped into their minds.
“Dad’s gone.”
Kenny Clark had fought till the tip, the daddy who was the UCLA guard’s inspiration lastly succumbing in late Might to the well being points that had beset him for a number of years. He was solely 47.
Hopes of a transfer again to Southern California from Nashville, Tenn., to be nearer to Skyy for what could be his last school season had been slowly dwindling due to Kenny’s deteriorating well being.
“I think the condition he was in, he was super rough,” Skyy, talking at Large Ten media day on Thursday, instructed The Occasions about his father, who had beforehand suffered a collection of strokes that required months of hospitalization. “The chances of him making a full recovery were looking slimmer and slimmer every day, so I think he just put up the fight as long as he could.”
Skyy is dedicating this season to the person who was his first coach and largest supporter, their bond mirrored in virtually day by day telephone calls. Each time he appears to be like at his left thigh, Skyy sees a tattoo of Kenny holding him as a child whereas kissing him on the cheek.
The oldest of seven siblings, Skyy had left Illinois halfway via his freshman season to take cost of his father’s care in January 2023, going with him to physician’s appointments and even pricking his finger for blood exams.
A former broad receiver on the College of Central Florida who performed briefly with the Minnesota Vikings earlier than a again damage pressured his retirement, Kenny lived as much as his give-it-all-you’ve-got mantra over the subsequent few years, persevering via each setback.
A tattoo on Skyy Clark’s left leg reveals him as a child together with his father, Kenny.
(Ben Bolch / Los Angeles Occasions)
“It was kind of up-and-down complications,” Skyy stated. “There’d be times where he’d be making some progress and then, you know, then he kind of declined a little bit, and then make a little bit more progress and decline. And so it was just a battle, you know. I’m proud of him, the way he fought. You know, he never gave up, he fought to the end.”
After transferring from Illinois to Louisville for one season earlier than touchdown at UCLA, Skyy impressed his new coach together with his skill to push via the ache of his father’s state of affairs. Mick Cronin stated he would ask Skyy if he wanted a break or if he was OK, all the time receiving the identical response.
“He’d say, ‘I’m good, coach,’ ” Cronin stated of a participant who averaged 8.5 factors, 2.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals whereas having a much bigger impression over the season’s last months. “You know, I think basketball’s been his escape.
“I’m excited for him to just be able to be in the program for his second year and just enjoy a year without a lot of off-the-floor trauma, and he hasn’t had that since he’s been in college. He’s a good guy. What you saw late last year, you’re gonna see more of. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t have an unbelievable senior year.”
Skyy stated his resolve was rooted in his upbringing and appreciating what he’s been given, his father as soon as displaying him and some siblings his ramshackle childhood residence in Ocala, Fla.
“We started shedding tears because the houses that he lived in looked like they just nailed together four boards and a little board on top for a roof,” Skyy stated. “And so just seeing that, honestly, and seeing how he made it out of that situation, just keeps me going.”
Among the many many issues Skyy stays grateful for is the time he and his father spent collectively in Nashville per week earlier than Kenny died, watching a Netflix collection starring Jamie Foxx through which the comic poked enjoyable at his personal stroke.
“He loved that one,” Skyy stated of his father. “It would always just crack him up.”
Skyy can have household close by in what shall be his last school season, barring a potential extension of eligibility that would grant all athletes a fifth 12 months. His brother ZZ is a redshirt freshman at UC Santa Barbara and his household just lately moved to Las Vegas, planning to attend as many Bruins and Gauchos video games as potential.
Skyy takes solace in realizing that Kenny shall be there, too.
“I know he’s still around me,” Skyy stated. “I still feel him. I tell everybody, whenever I’m having a rough day, he’s the reason why I wore No. 55, and so, it never fails — whenever I look up, I see the No. 55 somewhere, so I know he’s still watching and surrounding me.”
And so forth.
Cronin stated senior level guard Donovan Dent got here dwelling to play for UCLA partially as a result of “he’s got a close family member battling a serious illness, but I’m not the guy [to play for] if you’re just going to come home and take the money. Trust me, I’ll ruin your senior year because I’m not going to sit back and just let you coast along — not going to happen. And we’ve get Skyy and Trent [Perry], so, you know, like you know, you’ve got to know what you’re signing up for.”
What was Cronin’s message about what Dent wanted to do in addition to stay an elite offensive participant?
“He’s got to take care of the ball better,” Cronin stated. “He’s got to ratchet up his intensity and his toughness defensively.”
