Louisville’s Earl Clark, a Plainfield, N.J. native, has not yet decided whether he will hire an agent to officially end his college career, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
The 6-foot-9 Clark, a sophomore forward who competed for the Paterson-based Playaz Basketball Club, informed Louisville coach Rick Pitino over the weekend that he will declare for the NBA draft. Larry Clark, Earl’s father, said Clark reached the decision on his own after several days of weighing all the considerations involved.
“It’s always been his dream to play in the NBA, since the first time I gave him a basketball before he could even walk,” Larry Clark told the Courier-Journal. “He figures he’s as close as he can get right now.”
Chad Ford of ESPN.com rates Clark the 24th-best player available in this year’s draft. DraftExpress.com had Clark going No. 18 to Toronto in its mock draft posted yesterday.
Clark’s Louisville teammate, Derrick Caracter of Fanwood, N.J., already announced that he would enter the NBA Draft.
“I’m definitely not coming back,” Caracter, who averaged 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds, told Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com.
ROSARIO TO PLAY IN DERBY CLASSIC
Rutgers commit and McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario of St. Anthony will participate in the 35th annual Derby Classic will be played Saturday, April 19, in Freedom Hall.
According to Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier-Journal, the game will feature 11 players ranked among the top 50 nationally by Rivals.com, including Indian’s Mr. Basketball Tyler Zeller, a North Carolina commit.
North Carolina-bound Larry Drew, Florida State signee Chris Singleton and Nevada commit Luke Babbitt are the other McDonald’s All-Americans in the game.
