Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty
Former University of Kentucky men’s basketball player Terrence Clarke has died following a car accident in the Los Angeles, California on Thursday, according to multiple sources. He was 19.
LAPD said Clarke was traveling by himself in a 2021 Hyundai Genesis and was operating the vehicle “at a very high rate of speed.” The accident occurred in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles on Winnetka Ave. at approximately 2:10 p.m. local time.
The incident was captured on surveillance video and shows Clarke striking a truck before hitting a pole and then eventually a brick wall. He was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Police say Clarke wasn’t wearing his seat belt “properly” during the time of the crash.
Clarke was in Los Angeles training for the upcoming NBA Draft. The former five-star recruit and 2020 McDonald’s All-America made the decision to leave Kentucky after just one season.
The 6-foot-7, 195 pound guard averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and two steals in eight games for UK this past season. He had a career-high 22 points in a loss to Georgia Tech on Dec. 6.
Clarke missed a majority of the regular season with an injury to his right foot before returning in the SEC Tournament. He declared for the Draft in March after Kentucky failed to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013.
“I am absolutely gutted and sick tonight,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said in a statement. “A young person who we all love has just lost his life too soon, one with all of his dreams and hopes ahead of him. Terrence Clarke was a beautiful kid, someone who owned the room with his personality, smile and joy. People gravitated to him, and to hear we have lost him is just hard for all of us to comprehend right now. We are all in shock.”
Clarke, who grew up in Boston, knew several individuals from the Celtics organization including former Charlotte Hornets star Kemba Walker.
“Very tough news, man. He’s a very, very good kid,” Walker told ESPN. “Just always smiling, always energetic. And he was about to get his opportunity, too. My condolences to his family. It’s a tough time, man. That’s really tough news to hear. I don’t even know what to say. It’s kind of tough. It’s kind of mind-boggling to hear something like that.”
Former Kentucky player and NBA prospect Terrence Clarke, 19, dies in car accident was originally published on wfnz.com
