TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Gary Clark set two personal goals last April after he underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his left ankle: Not only did he want to win Defensive Player of the Year in the American Athletic Conference for the second time, he also wanted to win Player of the Year.
"It was really a hard moment for me in my life that month," Clark said. "I told my mother and my friends that I wanted to be Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. I was saying it, but I was really meaning it, that I'm going to do everything in my power to dominate as much as I can."
Clark found out earlier this week that he had won the defensive award, as well as the league's Sportsmanship Award and that he was the only player in the league to be picked unanimously by the coaches as first-team all-conference.
But the capper to a very gratifying week came Wednesday morning when he learned less than a half hour before the University of Cincinnati Bearcats took the court for practice that he had reached all of his goals when he was chosen Player of the Year. He's the first UC player to win a conference Player of the Year award since All-American guard Steve Logan did it in 2001 and 2002 when the Bearcats competed in Conference USA.
After he received the good news, Clark said that he had wanted the award so badly he was actually nervous about whether he would get it.
"To see that just a few minutes ago, my mom is somewhere probably crying," Clark said. "It's a good, warm feeling to know that in four years, if you stay the course, you don't try to leave, and if you don't blame anybody else, it's a product of just constantly trying to get better each year. To see all the things come full circle now, it's a rewarding feeling. I can't even express how proud I am right now in this very moment in front of you guys after all I've been through to get here."
Clark, a 6-foot-8, 230-pound senior forward from Clayton, N.C., was far from the league's top scorer. He averaged only 12.7 points, but supplemented his scoring by averaging 8.2 rebounds, which led the league; 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and 44.2 percent from 3-point range.
He led UC in either points or rebounds in 24 of the Bearcats' 31 games this season and led the league in double-doubles with nine.
With Clark showing the way, No. 8 UC won its first regular-season conference championship since 2004 with a 16-2 league record. The Bearcats, 27-4 overall, are the No. 1 seed in this week's conference tournament in Orlando. They'll play at noon Friday in a quarterfinal game against the winner of Thursday's game between Connecticut and SMU.
UC coach Mick Cronin said Clark's selection as the best player in the league validates his belief that there's more to basketball than scoring and that in an age when so many of the game's best players leave after a year or two for the NBA, there's still value for some players to complete their allotted four years of eligibility and earn a diploma, which Clark is on track to do at the end of spring semester with a degree in criminal justice.
"It's probably an acknowledgment for not just this year, but his entire career," Cronin said, "for the coaches in our league to show their appreciation for the type of player he is and how he's impacted our winning. They didn't just go by the statistics of points per game. Voting for Gary, you voted for a winner. You voted for a guy that can score, rebound, block shots and show tremendous leadership for his team.
"It really sends a message to all the players in the conference that basketball is not just about scoring. He's a throwback. Everybody loves to look at certain programs. A guy comes in and everybody wants to say he's going to be great or he is great or he's not any good and he's never going to be any good. That's just the way it is now. And they're wrong. Guys get better and it's not just here. If guys stay around, they're going to get better. Gary's gotten better in every area."
Even Clark, who arrived at UC in 2014 with a maturity that most players don't have at that stage of their career, evolved in his thinking about the game and what makes a good player. As he recounted to reporters, each year he wore a different hat. As a freshman, he was a role player doing whatever he could to get on the court. As a sophomore, he became more of a scorer, but was still trying to find his way. And as a junior, he began to display more leadership.
This year, he put it all together.
"I understood that I don't have to score to be productive and be an impact on the game," Clark said. "Freshman year I couldn't throw it in the ocean or do anything. I had a baby right hook and that was it. Over time it's definitely helped me to play hard, rebound, block shots, get steals. I tell the young guys now if you want to get on the court, do something in the margin where coach can see. It doesn't have to be scoring because scoring can come and go, but those things can stay consistent."
Junior forward Jacob Evans III, who joined Clark on the all-conference first team, was thrilled for his teammate, who also served as his mentor when he was a freshman.
"He deserves everything and more," Evans said. "Ever since I came here he embraced me, took me under his wing and made sure that I kept my head on straight. A lot of guys are not really like that at other colleges because they want to be the guy themselves. But Gary, he embraces you because he knows it's not going to just take him. He knows it takes multiple guys to help win a championship."
Had Clark not won Player of the Year, Evans said, "I would have definitely been upset. Who's a better player in the conference? He does everything from rebounding to coaching to scoring to passing to getting steals to deflections. He's the ultimate glue guy, but he also has that superstar factor for us, too."
Imagine that. A superstar who averages 12.7 points per game.
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.