Clemson forward Jack Clark out for Tigers' game at TCU

Clemson will once again be without one of their forwards as coach Brad Brownell has informed Jon Rothstein that Jack Clark will be sidelined for his third straight game as they travel to face TCU.

Here was the news of Clark’s continued absence, via Rothstein:

“Clemson’s Jack Clark (undisclosed) is OUT for today’s game against TCU, per Brad Brownell. Has not played since 11/28. Averages 2.8 PPG and 2.5 RPG.”

Clark is a sixth-year senior who arrived at Clemson by way of La Salle and NC State. After playing in three seasons out of four at La Salle, Clark posted 12 points per game and then decided to make the jump to the ACC level at NC State, where he spent one season and averaged nine points and seven rebounds a game.

After that one season with the Wolfpack, Clark decided to move on again and basically participated in a swap of forwards between NC State and Clemson, as Clark left the Pack for the Tigers, while NC State’s Ben Middlebrooks moved from Clemson over to NC State. So far, Clark is averaging 2.8 points and 2.5 rebounds, while Middlebrooks is averaging close to five points a game along with 3.6 rebounds

As for Clark’s loss vs. TCU, the athleticism would be nice to have. It’s hard to say he’s a crushing loss to the Tigers when Clemson is 8-0 with him hardly playing. But this is arguably the most challenging game on the schedule to date as the Horned Frogs appeared in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and Jamie Dixon has another versatile and athletic club in Fort Worth.

If the Tigers have a weak spot, it’s a lack of elite athletes, especially on the wing, where the Horned Frogs are loaded. Clark could have helped counteract such a matchup, but alas, he’ll be absent for “undisclosed reasons.”

As best we can tell, Clark has dealt with injuries this year, particularly to his groin, and just hasn’t been at 100% at all, which could explain the small numbers and role to start the season after a good year at NC State in 2022-23.

Coach Brownell even admitted they just haven’t been able to get the transfer forward fully healthy.

“We’re still kind of trying to figure it all out. I would say he’s doubtful for this game. I’m going to get with Brad (Crowe) right before practice and just see what it looks like. It’s been challenging for him. Just hasn’t been able to kind of get all the way there. He’s had some steps back, if you will, so we’ve just got to kind of deal with it day-to-day,” Brownell said.