Kentucky Wildcats guard Terrence Clarke has died in a car accident, WKYT reports. The incident allegedly occurred after Clarke left a workout in Los Angeles with Wildcats teammate BJ Boston, who was in the car behind him. Clarke was pronounced dead at Northridge Hospital. He was 19.
Clarke’s mother was at her son’s side when he passed away, Adrian Wojnarowski reports, citing Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul.
“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.”
In his freshman year, Clarke played eight games with the Wildcats, scoring 9.6 points on 42.1 percent shooting from the field. In early February, Kentucky head coach John Calipari announced on his radio show that the leg injury that had kept him sidelined since late December would “likely” keep him out for the remainder of the season. Clarke defied expectations, playing in one more game, and logging 10 minutes in Kentucky’s 74-73 loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament last month.
A consensus five-star recruit out of Brewster Academy, Clarke declared for Kentucky over Duke, Texas Tech and UCLA. Despite a short stint with the Wildcats, Clarke renounced his remaining years of collegiate eligibility and declared for the NBA Draft last month.
“I had high expectations coming into this season and, of course, didn’t expect to be injured, which I understand is part of the game,” Clarke wrote. “Thank you to Coach Cal, the coaching staff and my teammates! BBN, I hope to make you all proud as I pursue my dreams.”
Clarke and Boston announced that they were signing with Klutch Sports yesterday.
Following the tragic news, people took to social media to mourn the loss of Clarke.
