(Photo courtesy of Hunter Hensel)
BROOKLYN, NY – One of the first questions that senior guard Jimmy Clark III was asked after No. 6 seed Duquesne beat No. 7 St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals was if he had any extra motivation facing VCU in the finals with an A-10 title and trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
“Man, I couldn’t,” said Clark. “Can’t make this up, man.”
Duquesne head coach Keith Dambrot chimed in.
“I forgot about that,” said Dambrot.
Senior guard Dae Dae Grant, with a stone-cold expression on his face, responded to what his coach said.
“I didn’t,” said Grant. “I know I didn’t.”
Clark spent the first two seasons of his collegiate career at VCU before being dismissed due to undisclosed reasons in the middle of his sophomore season.
Before his departure from the program was officially announced, former VCU head coach Mike Rhoades said that Clark was serving a “university suspension.”
Prior do being dismissed, Clark was averaging just 5.8 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 16.1 minutes per game as VCU’s third string point guard behind two A-10 Player of the Years, current Los Angeles Clipper Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland and Penn State Nittany Lion Ace Baldwin.
This season for Duquesne, Clark has averaged 15.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.3 steals and shot 49.6% from the field and 34.2% from three in 30.9 minutes per game. Clark was also named to the All-Conference second team and All-Defensive team. Clark made the All-Defensive team last season as well.
Later in the press conference, Dambrot provided some more context about the history between Clark and VCU, and why he was such a good fit for his program.
“When we recruited Jimmy [Clark], one of the reasons we hit it off so much is we were both looking for redemption. I had an issue in my career and Jimmy had an issue in his career.” said Dambrot. “And you have choices at that point. Either you keep fighting or you put the white flag up. And I think for Jimmy, the whole thing is a whole redemption thing.”
Dambrot continued, “That’s why he came back into the Atlantic-10, because he wanted to show people, one, that he was a good player. But most importantly, that he’s a good person… We have to understand young people at times make some mistakes. And old people do, too — me included. So I think that’s kind of why we hit it off so well.”
Dambrot is likely referring to an incident in 1993 when he was the head coach at Central Michigan where he asked his players permission to use a racial slur. They said it was OK, but Dambrot was suspended once the administration found out. Dambrot was officially fired soon after despite his players continuing to defend him.
After being dismissed from VCU in 2021, Clark did not have the opportunity to play Division I basketball the next season. Instead, he transferred to Northwest Florida State, where he helped them win a national title at the junior college level.
Then, Clark made the decision to return to the A-10 with Duquesne where he would have the chance to play VCU every season.
Dambrot and Clark spoke to Pittsburgh Sports Now’s Zachary Weiss after Duquesne beat VCU 79-70 last season on Jan. 4 at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Clark’s first matchup against his former team.
“When people go through some things in their life, that redemption factor is a big thing and that’s one of the reasons he came to Duquesne,” said Dambrot. “He wanted to play in the Atlantic 10 again.”
“Coming from VCU and having that chip on my shoulder, having to go to JUCO and then coming back to the same conference and be able to play my old team, All I can say is thank God,” said Clark.
That game, Clark scored what is still a career high 26 points, hauled in six rebounds and collected a then-career high five steals.
Clark is 2-0 against VCU in his two-year Duquesne career, also picking up a 69-59 win earlier this month on March 5. Clark was more of a facilitator that game, only scoring nine points but dishing out a team-high four assists. It is important to note that VCU’s All-Conference first team guard Max Shulga did not play in that game.
Even with Duquesne’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1977 on the line, it’s clear that because he’s playing VCU, the stakes are higher for Clark.
“I think he’ll play like it’s the last game he ever played tomorrow,” said Dambrot.
https://www.a10talk.com/2024/03/jimmy-clark-iii-faces-former-team-in-a-10-tournament-final/
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