AMHERST — Donte Clark is in the midst of his fourth year of college and about to begin his third season as a much-relied on piece of the UMass men’s basketball team.
Still, his transition from promising young player to veteran leader has been a little surreal for him.
“I’m still trying to get use to it,” he said shaking his head and smiling.
For his first two seasons, there were always veteran leaders in front of him. Trey Davis was older, more vocal and the team’s top scorer on the perimeter. On top of that, he’d been a key piece of the team’s 2014 NCAA Tournament team. Clark was comfortable deferring to Davis and letting his play do the talking.
Davis is gone now. There isn’t a senior on the team nor a player who has been in the program longer than Clark. Even with the new infusion of talent in the program, Clark is expected to be the Minutemen’s best player. He’s made it a priority to be a better leader.
“I have to step out of my comfort zone. Out on the court I have to make sure everybody knows where they’re supposed to be,” Clark said. “This year, it’s just more leadership stuff, talking on the court. If I’m playing hard, I know they’re going to be right behind me. It’s not even about me scoring this year.”
Clark said he’s tried to look out for freshman guard Dejon Jarreau and push him.
“Deeky (Jarreau’s nickname) reminds me of myself,” Clark said. “He’s laid back, not going as hard as he’s supposed to be sometimes. I talk to him a lot, taking him under my wing.”
UMass coach Derek Kellogg said he’s comfortable with Clark leading by example if being vocal doesn’t come as naturally. Instead, he’s challenging Clark not to defer to anyone on the court.
“When I look at these magazines and he’s not one of the top 10 players in the league, I’m challenging him to be that by the end of the year, to be a guy that’s thought of as an all-league first-team player, who not only leads us in scoring but leads us in rebounds and loose balls and assists,” Kellogg said. “I think he’s very capable. I’m really challenging him to use his teammates because there’re more guys who can make plays.
“Being vocal? I’m not sure that’s his forte, but what his forte is, is being a leader in the way he carries himself,” Kellogg said. “The young guys all bring his name up as a guy they look up to. I’m challenging him to be Donte at the highest level possible.”
Kellogg said there’s signs that some of his underclassmen could be leaders right away.
“The leadership is important, but it might not necessarily come from just the older guys,” Kellogg said. “A guy like (redshirt freshman) Luwane (Pipkins), with how hard he plays and how he carries himself, he has good verbal skills and high character on the floor. He could be a leader.”
UNOFFICIAL VISITS – Quite a few underclassmen recruits were on campus for unofficial visits over the weekend, including five-star recruit Javonte Smart, a 6-foot-4 Baton Rouge native who is a junior in high school.
He’s gotten heavy recruiting interest nationally, especially from Big 12 and SEC schools, including Kentucky. 247Sports lists him as the top point guard in his class. ESPN has him as the No. 13 player in the class of 2018 and the No. 3 point guard. Rivals has him as its No. 11 player and No. 2 guard.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage