Smallest Guy On Floor Making Big Difference in NCAAs

By Jerry Ratcliffe

LOUISVILLE — Almost every time Tony Bennett is asked about his smallest player, the Virginia coach has this twinkle in his eyes.

At 5-foot-9, Kihei Clark is not an imposing figure in a library, let alone on a basketball court where he is towered over by most everyone else. The smallest man on the floor produced some of the biggest numbers in the Cavaliers win over Oregon in their Sweet Sixteen matchup Thursday night.

Clark matched career highs in scoring (12 points), assists (six), 3-pointers (three), and minutes (37) in UVA’s 53-49 win over the Ducks.

Often criticized by portions of the fan base, it would be fair to say that Virginia wouldn’t be in Saturday night’s Elite Eight game against Purdue without Clark. He stepped up huge in the Cavaliers’ second-round win over Oklahoma, then followed up with a strong contribution against Oregon.

“I’m so proud of Kihei,” said UVA point guard Ty Jerome of his understudy. “That’s what I expect from him. He puts in the work. He’s a confident kid. If I ever see him waiver from that, I always tell him, ‘Be who you are,’ because he’s a hell of a player.”

Both are point guards, Jerome an experienced junior, Clark a freshman who picks Jerome’s brain as much as possible, absorbing all the knowledge he can. They often shoot together, and talk about the job.

Against Oregon, a team that boasted four 6-foot-9 players, both Jerome and Clark had their work cut out trying to solve the Ducks’ defense, which was a combination of matchup zone and switching man-to-man. They had to find ways to penetrate and to free up open shots on the perimeter against the Ducks’ length.

“[Oregon’s defense] was super confusing,” Jerome said. “I don’t think we figured it out the whole 40 minutes. Our defense carried us.”

Clark was at the head of that defense as he handled Oregon point guard Payton Pritchard (listed as 6-3), the Ducks’ leading scorer on the season. Clark held Pritchard to 11 points on a 3-of-12 shooting performance (only 1 of 6 from behind the arc).

In fact, Pritchard’s work for the evening came in with a plus/minus of -4. Meanwhile, Clark’s was the highest plus/minus of any player for either team with a 10, just ahead of teammate Mamadi Diakite with a nine.

“Hats off to Pritchard,” Clark said afterward. “He’s a great point guard. He’s real quick, has a nice shot and a great crossover.

“I just tried to do my job and stay in front of him and make it as hard as possible.”

Clark is the modest type, so he’s not going to go overboard on anything he accomplishes, but there’s no question that he has been a key factor in Virginia’s postseason success thus far.

That comes as no surprise to Bennett, who at 5-foot-11, was once voted the nation’s best player under 6-feet, and appreciates the job Clark has done, how far he has come.

“He’s so competitive,” the UVA coach said. “He’s a winner. He’s shown that.”

Bennett never saw Clark in junior high, but caught him on the AAU circuit when he discovered that the Californian had decommitted from Cal-Davis. Bennett called Davis coach Jim Les to confirm his thoughts about the youngster.

“When you see it, you know it,” Bennett said during Friday’s pre-Elite Eight interviews at the KFC Yum! Center, home of Louisville basketball and host of the NCAA South Regional. “When I watched [Clark], not a lot of people were.”

When Bennett called Les, he asked, “First, I want to make sure this is legit (that Clark had decommitted before approaching him), and then I said to [Les], am I seeing this right? He said, yes, you are. He said, [Clark’s] special.”

Bennett has found out that his diminutive freshman guard is as special as Les suggested. There’s a physical and mental toughness not always found in a rookie.

“In these settings, to have that kind of mettle, and that kind of stuff, that’s a good sign,” Bennett said.

It isn’t the first time Bennett has witnessed this kind of unique toughness in a smaller player. Bennett observed Muggsy Bogues the three years he was Bogues’ backup with the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. Bogues, like Clark, never backed down even though he was only 5-foot-3.

“I think it was a video or a book, and the title was, ‘Don’t Tell Me No,’” Bennett said about the grit of a smaller guard. “I watched [Bogues] heart and that perseverance. That’s something that you have to have. I tried to identify with that. I understood that.”

Bennett sees those same qualities in Clark and believes the best is yet to come.

“We needed all of his big plays [vs. Oregon],” Bennett said. “He’s getting more comfortable. He seems to seize the opportunity.

“He’s got something in him. He did some things against Oklahoma, too.”

Clark helped the Cavaliers eliminate the Sooners a week ago and the Ducks a few days later.

Wonder what he’ll do for an encore?