Champagne – illinois freshman guard Sky Clark He announced Friday that he will be stepping down from the men’s basketball team for an undetermined period of time.
“I just want to say I love the University of Illinois, the coaching staff, my teammates, and the wider (Illinois) community,” Clarke wrote on social media Friday afternoon. This decision has nothing to do with basketball, but with prioritizing the well-being of myself and my family.
“For personal reasons, I have to step away from basketball for the time being. Please put yourself and your family first. I appreciate everyone’s support during this time, but not only my privacy, but my Please respect the privacy of everyone around you.”
IlliniGuys.com was the first to report the news.
Clark, a freshman ranked 33rd in his 2022 class, has averaged 7.0 points per game with 3.7 rebounds and 27 assists this season. He started 12 of the 13 games he played.
Illini head coach Brad Underwood said in a statement, “Sky has made the decision to step away from basketball for some time.” Skyy is a thoughtful, caring young man who needs to put himself and his family first now, this is more important than basketball, we understand that and stand by him. at every step. ”
Clark missed Bethune Cookman’s game with a shoulder injury, but he scored 2 points on 1-of-6 shooting while holding down 3 rebounds Wednesday against Northwestern.
The Illini (9-5, 0-3) Big Ten have lost their last three games to high-major programs and four of their last five games to high-major teams. Illinois will host Wisconsin (11-2, 3-0 Big Ten) on Saturday at 12:30 PM.
Illinois likely to turn to freshman guard combination Jaden Epps When Sensia Harris Performing point guard duty in an already inexperienced backcourt. Illinois is currently his 309th of 363 Division I teams in turnover.
Clark enrolled at the University of Illinois after attending the University of Kentucky in the class of 2022. He tore his ACL in the summer of 2021 and got back healthy with the help of his coach at Illinois Strength and Conditioning, Adam Fletcher. game in Illinois. He played every game in good shape until Thursday’s loss to Northwestern University.
Its meaning: Epps and Harris could be the focus of the Illinois team’s point guard, which has been in a bit of a rut the past three weeks after a red-hot start to the year that included wins at UCLA and Texas. Rather than pursue a veteran point guard transfer portal, the Illini’s coaching staff will rely on freshman point guards entering the season, and as the Big Ten season heats up, they’re making these moves for teams that haven’t won in the Big Ten. became one of three new students in .
It’s unclear how long Clark will be out of the program or if he will return to Illinois at some point this season. Dora Gibbs-Rohorn In the class of 2023.
