Mizzou Basketball Player Previews... Wes Clark

#15 Wes Clark

Sophomore, Guard
6'0" 185 lbs
Detroit, Michigan
Romulus High School

Sam Snelling -

I'm a Wes Clark fan, I've said it a million times, I'm sorry.

One of the things that gets me really excited about him is the added level of maturity that he's gotten credited for since his dustups a year ago. There are few that could deny that as a player Clark was supremely talented and had a high ceiling, and in averaging more than 20 minutes a game last year he demonstrated good ability as a freshmen. But leadership is something that concerns you with a young team like Missouri, so for one of the younger players to be stepping up into that role it's important.

Clark is tough, and you can see he has that fire to win. Haith often made sure to have Clark on the floor late in games because of his toughness. He was a bit of a weak defender a year ago, but that was a consistent problem through the roster. If that improves Clark has the ability to be one of the best point guards in the SEC, and if he is consistently starting, and beating out Shamburger and Isabell for minutes at the point, I think the ceiling on this team goes up by a lot.

HHKB Chris -

I think we can expect big, big things from Wes this year. Last year he seemed really plagued with a bit of need to get handsy that would result in some quick touch fouls, that at times seemed a bit ticky tack to me. With an offense sans a true point guard last year, I was really hoping for him to be able to take control of that position, and to some extent by the end of the year he was.

What I look forward to this year is his natural growth not only on the floor as a player but as a leader. Your point guard has got to run the show and from what we've heard it sounds like he's taken that seriously. We know he can shoot, and we know he can pass, the big question mark for me is the defense. Can he step up and shut opposing point guards down? If he can take that step I think we can start expecting big things from him and Mizzou. Obviously having Keith Shamburger in your back pocket doesn't hurt this year, but my hope is that he's just a bonus and that Wes is the man.

CBonerfied -

I've been excited about Wes since he committed, and although the ups and downs were pretty significant last season, his potential is pretty obvious to me. Sadly, many fans seem to have made their mind up on Wes Clark after just one year. In my bold opinion, here's a list of things he probably won't do: 1) be an NBA point guard or 2) transfer from Mizzou or leave early. My hopeful expectations of Wes are a steady hand over time (a lot steadier than last year, a season in which he made big leaps already), a solid floor leader who can determine what the team needs from him to succeed when the ball is in his hands, and a guy who will make good decisions down the stretch of close games. (In a way, I envision him as kind of an anti-Phil Pressey, for better and for worse.) He's a decent shooter who can hit a pull-up, and I think his career shooting percentages will be fairly steady on a year-by-year basis (44-48 overall, 36-40 from 3, 70-80 FT). And finally, his D is going to be better. In summary, he's going to be better this season--maybe 10 points, 4 assists, and four rebounds per--and we're going to be VERY glad to have him in a couple of years.

Wooderson -

wes clark - slew rack, elk craws, aw clerks