FILM ROOM: Clara Strack does it all down in the post

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Welcome to KSR’s third edition of the Film Room series, a weekly series where we’ll be taking a look at each player on Kentucky’s 2024-25 roster and breaking down their film. This time, we take a look at former Virginia Tech Hokie Clara Strack.

You can also view our other Film Room breakdowns by clicking below.

As a freshman last season, Strack averaged 4.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, playing behind Elizabeth Kitley — one of the best to ever do it in Blacksburg. However, toward the end of the season, Kitley suffered a torn ACL, an injury that would keep her out of the NCAA Tournament. That’s where Strack shined. She averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks in the Hokies’ two-game run in the big dance.

Making opposing scorers uncomfortable at the rim

One of the more underrated parts of Clara Strack’s game is her ability to be a rock defensively. Obviously, she’s an excellent post-scorer and rebounder, but when it comes to preventing buckets in the paint, Strack is elite.

Even if she can’t block the shot (which she often does) she does just enough to contest it to result in a miss. Players who love to drive the ball are met by six feet and five inches of “I don’t think so!”. Strack seems to be able to pick up on what moves guards make — the maneuvers they use to out-quick bigs typically. So, when someone drives the ball and makes a step, Strack is right there with them to force a miss.

She’s like a barrier down in the paint. You see players going downhill and all of a sudden, their momentum is stopped and it oftentimes forces a poor shot attempt. It helps when you’re one of the tallest players on the floor, but Strack also has to smart enough and quick enough to make the play as well, which she is.

Having a soft touch around the basket

This is where you could call Strack “Baby Kitley”. You can tell she is poised with the ball in her hands. It almost looks like the game slows down for her, which is super impressive given she was a freshman last season playing in the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps the easiest way to tell that is how she finishes around the rim.

Like Kitley, Strack has a very soft touch down low. Players will often rush their shot and miss an easy basket, but instead, Strack keeps her composure and sinks it. She just knows how to finish in the paint.

Additonally, she has great footwork to set herself up with a better opportunity. If she can feel or sense the defender on one side, she spins or steps to the other side. If needed, she can back them down right under the hoop. Again, like Kitley, Strack is a master at work down low. She could probably do it blindfolded.

Stepping up when it matters most

How many freshmen in college basketball have the “clutch gene”? Maybe Anthony Davis back in 2012? Malik Monk in 2017? There aren’t very many, but Strack is one of them. The pressure that was on her to excel in Kitley’s absence in the NCAA Tournament could have been overwhelming. Instead, it seemed to be motivating, more than anything.

Against Marshall in the first round, Strack did what she was supposed to do: dominate the smaller competition. Her 17 points, five rebounds and four blocks while going 7-7 from the field was about what you’d hope for from a talented player like Strack. However, she stepped it up against Baylor in the second round, scoring 18 points, grabbing 10 boards and rejecting two shots.

Then, as we already touched on, Strack manages to stay calm and collected, even in big, crunch time moments. When the team desperately needed a bucket in the fourth quarter, Strack answered the call. Will Kentucky be getting the same player that averaged 17.5 points in the NCAA Tournament? We’ll have to see. What we do know is that Kentucky will be getting a young player who plays like she’s a fifth-year senior, and that alone is huge moving forward.