According to a report from Lexington, Kentucky CBS affiliate WKYT, former Kentucky Wildcats’ men’s basketball player Terrence Clarke has passed away at 19 following a car accident in Los Angeles. This came a month after Clarke had declared for the NBA draft, and only a day after he and former Kentucky teammate B.J. Boston had both signed with agency Klutch Sports. Here’s more on what happened from WKYT:
WKYT has confirmed former UK men’s basketball player Terrence Clarke has died in Los Angeles.
Sources tell WKYT Clarke and BJ Boston were leaving a workout in LA. We have been told Clarke died on the way to hospital.
Boston was reportedly in a car behind him. We don’t know details on what happened.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski later added further confirmation with a statement from Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul:
Clarke (seen above passing to Kentucky teammate Davion Mintz in a Dec. 26 game), a consensus five-star recruit out of Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, was a freshman with the Wildcats last season. He only played eight games with them, though, due to a right leg injury, and averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists in those games. But he was seen as having pro potential, and it’s awful to see his life cut short this way. Clarke’s passing led to tributes from many in the basketball world, including Boston Celtics’ coach Brad Stevens:
Here are some further tributes to Clarke:
Our thoughts go out to Clarke’s friends and family.
[WKYT; photo from Scott Utterback/USA Today Sports]