Unsigned four-star senior Jaylen Clark begins UCLA visit
SANTA ANA, Calif. --Four-star senior Jaylen Clark's last season of high school basketball has featured some twists and turns, but they could be leading to a commitment sooner than later.
In the fall, the 6-foot-6 small forward who transferred to Etiwanda (Calif.) High for his senior year was leaning towards Colorado But, when the Buffs went a different direction he was left trying to decide whether to commit to one of his remaining offers or play out his final season. He chose to play things out and he has had a strong final season of high school.
"Until today, I was shooting 78% from the field and on less shots," said Clark after a win in the Nike Extravaganza. "At Centennial, I was putting up 25 shots and not blinking. Being more involved with the team, I’m ok with making the extra pass, drawing two and kicking it, and not caring about points. Our team chemistry is crazy this year. We all hang out with each other off of the court. We’re boys. Walk around school and we’re always all together. I feel like that takes you a long way."
Schools like Arizona, Oregon, Texas and Virginia Tech have jumped in but so has UCLA and the Bruins are currently hosting Clark on an official visit after new coach Mick Cronin and his staff decided to get involved.
"Coach Cronin came and watched me play and I didn’t miss a shot," said Clark. "Had blocks everywhere, had four or five steals, just playing hard. Doing what I know I can do. He just liked it. He texted me and we set it up that night.
The visit to Westwood could be huge. Though Clark has plenty of options, whether or not he sets up other visits will have a lot to do with how this weekend goes.
Yeah, but I don’t know if I’m going to," said Clark when asked if he would set up other visits. "It depends on how this weekend goes. I want to stay home, to be honest. This process is long and I just want to find a home where I’m loved at. If things go well this weekend, I may go. If they don’t, I’m going to keep looking. But I want to get this over with as fast as possible."
Whether Clark ends up committing to UCLA or taking more visits, he's glad things have worked out like they have.
"I’m happy I didn’t make a rushed decision," said Clark. "I was supposed to go to Colorado. That’s where I was going. Things happened, a kid committed before me and I was just like whoa. My whole world got flipped upside down. If you know you got your heart set on one place and it doesn’t happen like that. I’m happy I didn’t rush and just go somewhere else. Because opportunities that presented themselves wouldn’t have been there at that time"