Illinois point guard Skyy Clark leaves program midseason

Skyy Clark had been an impact freshman over his first 13 games with Illinois. However, things have taken a turn as it now appears his college basketball future is up in the air.

That’s because, per On3’s Joe Tipton, Clark has left the Fighting Illini’s program.

Illinois freshman guard Skyy Clark has indeed left the program, source tells me. https://t.co/Hcbh9L0hKL

— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) January 6, 2023

Rumors had swirled about the former four-star guard this week. This comes after he’d averaged seven points per game to go with 3.7 rebounds, 2.8 steals, and 2.1 assists. In his 13 appearances this season, Illinois went 8-5.

Clark was originally committed to play for Kentucky coming out of Montverde Academy. However, the Top-5 PG and Top-40 player in the 2022 class decommitted from the Wildcats back in March of 2022. He then committed to play for Brad Underwood and Illinois a month later in April 2022.

Clark’s brother, ZZ Clark, also was committed and has since decommitted from Illinois over the last year. With Skyy’s decision official now, though, we’ll have to wait and see whether we get a reason as to why he’s leaving Champaign or what the next step will be in his basketball career.

WATCH: Brad Underwood blows up on sideline as Illinois struggles in first half vs Northwestern

It’s been an up and down year for Brad Underwood and Illinois as Big Ten play gets rolling. The Fighting Illini had another rough go in the first half of Wednesday’s showdown with in-state rival Northwestern, and Brad Underwood had seen enough.

Underwood blew up on the sideline late in the first half as Northwestern scored yet another bucket to eventually take a 31-27 lead into halftime. Illinois shot 46.2% from the field in the half, but was just 3-for-14 from three-point territory prior to the break. Northwestern actually had a lower shooting percentage in the first 20 minutes, but went 8-for-10 from the free throw line while Illinois didn’t attempt a free throw.

Big Ten Network cameras caught Underwood’s emphatic message to his team during a timeout.

Any lip readers out there? #DaddyMad pic.twitter.com/iJziCMMI5Q

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 5, 2023