Bill Koch

bkoch@enquirer.com

Freshman Gary Clark might not be Born Ready -- the nickname that Lance Stephenson brought with him to the University of Cincinnati when he arrived in 2009 -- but during the first two weeks of practice Clark has drawn rave reviews from the coaching staff and his teammates.

"He knows what he's doing," said senior forward Jermaine Sanders. "He picks up on things fast. Of all the new guys, he's learning the fastest."

Clark, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound forward, was a prolific scorer at Clayton (N.C.) High School, and has given every indication in the early days of his college career that his skills will translate to the next level.

"He's probably the most mature freshman player I've ever coached," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "He's a tremendously mature young man as a person and that's how he plays. He plays like a veteran."

Very few players – including Stephenson – make a seamless adjustment to the college game. But Clark has played so well in practice that those close to the program predict he will be in the starting lineup when the regular season begins Nov. 14.

As a senior in high school, Clark averaged 26 points, 15 rebounds and 4.7 blocked shots. He surpassed the 30-point mark 10 times and reached the 40-point mark twice, including a career-high 47-point outburst in early January against Southeast Raleigh High School.

Cronin said Clark is the kind of player who can fill up his stat line without drawing a lot of attention to himself.

"The thing about Gary is that he can score in a lot of ways," Cronin said. "When you throw in the fact that he's an excellent rebounder, he doesn't have to rely on the jump shot. He doesn't have to rely on the post-up. He can really score it from anywhere on the floor. He doesn't live on the perimeter but he can make shots. He's a guy apt to go eight for 10 in a game and you don't even know it."

There's always a danger in building up a freshman too soon based on a few weeks of practice. Last year, Jermaine Lawrence, who was much more highly-rated by the national recruiting services, was supposed to be the next great thing, but suffered a toe injury in mid-season that sidelined him for eight games, and averaged only 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds. After the season, he transferred to Manhattan to be closer to his ailing father.

Based on his play so far, Clark is much further along than Lawrence was at this point. Cronin will never commit to a starting lineup this early in the process, but he says there's no question that Clark will play a major role for the Bearcats as a freshman. Then again, he said the same thing about Lawrence last year at this time.

"It's different because with Jermaine you could see flashes of it," said associate head coach Larry Davis, who recruited Clark. "He wasn't the most consistent guy day in and day out in practice. We've practiced 10 days, and I'd venture to say (Clark) has led us in rebounding in eight of the 10 practices. He's doing it every day, start to finish in practice, not a flash here and there. Gary Clark is a sponge. He absorbs all coaching."

Davis will be the first to admit that you never really know what a first-year player will do until he gets on the floor in a regular-season game. And even then the light might not come on right away. He pointed to San Antonio Spurs great Tim Duncan as an example. Davis was an assistant at Wake Forest when he recruited Duncan to play for the Demon Deacons.

"In his first game, he scored three points, with two rebounds, and he fouled out," Davis said. "And he played 30 minutes. The next game he played 30 minutes again and 30 minutes in the game after that. By mid-season, he was averaging almost a double-double."

The Bearcats would be happy to get that kind of production from Clark.

"I'll be shocked if he doesn't play really well in the games," Davis said. "He's just one of those guys that's got a knack for getting the ball in the basket. He's got a nose for the ball."