By Andrew Krumme
Amidst news of two injured U of L players, last week came with some much-needed good news for Head Coach Rick Pitino and his basketball team. High school stand-out Earl Clark announced his decision to attend Louisville next fall.
Clark is a 6-foot-8, 200-pound swingman from New Jersey who will fit in nicely with Pitino’s fast-paced style of basketball. He is the highest-rated player coming out of the Garden State. Clark is also the No. 15-rated player nationally by Rivals.com, a college sports recruiting web site.
Several weeks ago things looked bleak for the Cards as rumors surfaced from the Clark camp that Villanova was his top choice. Nevertheless, Clark told Rivals.com his deciding factor for choosing to be a Cardinal instead of a Wildcat was none other than Pitino himself.
“It was being around Coach P.,” Clark said. “I watched the way he works his practice. Most schools out there, the assistants do all the individual work in the practice, but not with Coach P. I just saw how hard he works to make his players great players. He wants his players to reach their potential, their full potential.”
Clark joins an impressive recruiting class that includes other top-50 prospects Derrick Caracter and Edgar Sosa, along with top-100 senior Jerry Smith.
While Pitino may have been the deciding factor for Clark, Clark’s friendships with Sosa and Caracter also played a big part in his choice.
“We are all going to come down to Louisville and hopefully we’ll play together and we can compete for a championship,” said Clark.
