Draft Countdown: Earl Clark

[WLU_CA]

Don't know a lot of Clark's game but I thought I would pass this along as I remember reading this a while back:

From Truehoop Blog - http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-40-92/Monday-Bullets.html

Chad Ford on Earl Clark: "After a workout, Clark sought out an NBA executive who was watching the workout with me that day. Clark introduced himself and then asked the executive, 'What did you think of my workout?' The executive gave the standard 'You looked good' answer and then Clark asked his follow-up. 'No, what I want to know is, what do I need to work on? How do I improve? I'm just trying to get better.' The executive said he couldn't remember, in all his years of scouting, a prospect coming up and asking that question."

[HiJiNX]

I personally think that if Clark is on the board at our pick we take him running and don't look back. He's probably a top 5 talent in this draft, IMO.

[zigzagzig]

he was my guy. mid-NCAA season. all along
i was saying earl clark this, earl clark that

i think he is the next danny granger/lamar odom hybrid.

and great quote WLU_ kind of goes against his percieved lack of focus & effort. i think the kid is underrated, good IQ for the game. & the heart to improve.

with his ball handling i think he can play & defend the 3. he can create his own shot fairly well, we need that.

[Dr Positivity]

I'd love to pick Earl Clark, I think his all-star potential is being hugely, HUGELY underrated right now. In terms of upside picks, I'm way more confident in Jennings and Clark (sounds like a real estate firm, lol) than I am in Derozan.

I think he'll be a PF, but one with Odom-esque skills and talent, plus his body and athleticism is among the best in the draft.

[ansoncarter]

anyone but jennings

-bragged about playing well against an injured opponent
-his proudest moment overseas was a game his team lost
-thinks his team is just a place to showoff/audition his talent

just can't see him succeeding longterm. Not against people who take their **** seriously

[lemondrop]

Two things here, Clark skips workout either from injury or he thinks he is going higher and also Clark admits he isn't getting positive feedback about the way he carries himself.

Louisville's Clark skips Bulls workout
Posted by mikemcgraw on Sun, 06/21/2009 - 13:01
Louisville’s Earl Clark cancelled a scheduled workout with the Bulls on Sunday.

The Bulls proceeded without him, leaving Gonzaga’s Austin Daye and Micah Downs, UCLA’s Josh Shipp, Memphis’ Antonio Anderson, West Virginia’s Alex Ruoff and Clemson’s K.C. Rivers to perform at a steamy Berto Center.

A power outage cut Saturday’s predraft workout short and the air conditioning still needed to be re-programmed, creating a warm and muggy atmosphere inside the gym.

The 6-foot-10 Clark cited an injury as the reason for his cancellation, though it’s always possible he decided to skip Chicago because he doesn’t think he’ll be on the board when the Bulls pick at No. 16.

Clark attended a workout in Phoenix on Saturday with Daye, Wake Forest’s James Johnson and point guard Brandon Jennings, who played in Italy last season. The Suns own the No. 14 selection.

Clark is billed as a power forward with perimeter skills. He averaged 14.2 points and 8.7 rebounds during his junior season with the Cardinals.

“A lot of people don't like my body language,” Clark told the Arizona Republic on Saturday. “They think I'm out there cruising. I guess I make it look easy. I want to come out here, be myself and show teams I really do work hard.”

Source: http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/2165

[Kurtz]

I personally think that if Clark is on the board at our pick we take him running and don't look back. He's probably a top 5 talent in this draft, IMO.

Definately a top 5 talent. I'd say most potential in the entire draft, after Griffin and Rubio.

I'm pretty shocked he's projected to go in the mid first.

[SwiftyV]

Earl Clark is a real favorite of mine and a player I'd love to get at around 14-18 (if we were to buy a second pick there).

He steps his games up on the big stage like the conference tourney and NCAA tourney. Needs some work still but a player I'd be thrilled to get.

[RapsFanInOhio]

Earl Clark is a real favorite of mine and a player I'd love to get at around 14-18 (if we were to buy a second pick there).

He steps his games up on the big stage like the conference tourney and NCAA tourney. Needs some work still but a player I'd be thrilled to get.

I think he'll go higher than 14-18, but if we got DD at 9 and Clark at like 17 or 18 I would be VERY happy.

[EliteBaller]

If we can buy Charlottes pick at#13 that would be a good spot to draft him. We could offer Roko+3million. **** we don't have much to offer..lol...anyways I know they are in really bad financial shape so even this deal might be enticing 4 them if the player they want is gone by 13

[HiJiNX]

I personally think that if Clark is on the board at our pick we take him running and don't look back. He's probably a top 5 talent in this draft, IMO.

Definately a top 5 talent. I'd say most potential in the entire draft, after Griffin and Rubio.

I'm pretty shocked he's projected to go in the mid first.

I'm with you. The dude is just incredibly smooth and always seems to know what to do with the ball. I don't understand this "lazy" label he's gotten. I never saw it watching him play. He makes the game look easy because he's a very smooth player for his size. But, I'll tell you one thing, the kid can score from the perimeter, pull up mid-range, drive and finish, and run the break. Plus he rebounds the ball.

And he's still pretty raw, despite his natural ability. I'm really hoping we somehow end up with him.

[lemondrop]

Clark continues to be hampered by his lazy approach and atttitude, its funny because before all this draft stuff happened we were hearing that Williams was the problem child and I never understodd it because when I watched them both in college and seen the interviews after games I always thought it was Clark who had issues. Perhaps some of these mock draft guys got the two mixed up un the beginning.

The Intensity Rap
When Clark was told that there is a legion of basketball people out there that don't think he's a killer, he was befuddled.

"I averaged nine rebounds a game in the Big East," Clark said. "How can you do that, how can you play for Coach Pitino for three years, and not be a killer?"

Clark's skeptics would respond that he didn't work that hard to get those 8.7 rebounds. They believe that because Clark is so uniquely talented, and so much better than everyone else he's played with for most of his 21 years, that he never had to grind to be effective. They point to the UConn game as an example of Clark's inability to elevate his offensive game against an elite defense. Why not challenge Adrien off the dribble? Why not get Thabeet and company to collapse and use playmaking skills to find shooters on the perimeter?

His high school coach, Remley, recalls the 2006 state high school championship game between Rahway and Haddonfield, led by 7-foot-1 center Brian Zoubek, who went on to play for Duke. "I thought [Clark] would make Zoubek look slow," Remley said. "But Earl looked like he was in a hole, like he was 6-2. He couldn't do anything." Clark finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Zoubek went for 27 points and 18 rebounds in Haddonfield's 71-37 win.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-41-119/What-We-Think-We-Know-About-Earl-Clark.html