Recruiting Report: Griff Clark (2018)
After boasting one of the better offseasons of any Iowa player, Cedar Rapids Prairie point guard Griff Clark has seen a recent surge with his recruitment.
When we last talked with the 5-foot-10 2018, there was very little interest coming in, now, area D3 and NAIA programs have made him a target.
“After a good spring with the (Iowa) Mavericks, I started to get a lot more attention then I was after my junior year. I’ve been getting some calls from a lot of D3 schools and some NAIA schools, like Briar Cliff has called me a lot,” said Clark.
“I’ve been talking to the main D3s like Coe, Loras, Central, Simpson and more schools like that.”
He says visits to a select few of those programs are in the works, and he’s not ruling out anything. And hopes to see some D2 interest come in at some point.
“I’m planning on visiting Briar Cliff soon, and Coe too. But with this season, I’m hoping to get some higher attention from maybe some D2 schools, or maybe some good JuCos,” said Clark.
“I like the idea of going JuCo, so really no option is off the table for me. And I would like to get some D2 attention, I think that would be a good fit for me.”
Already a talented shooter, Clark says he’s worked this offseason to master the outside shot, making him a nearly unstoppable threat offensively.
“I’ve really been working on my 3-point shot, so when I go to the gym I’ve been working on trying to get up as many of those shots as possible,” said Clark.
“When a lot of the defenders know my game they tend to sag off, because they know I like to get to the rim and get to the line. And I think adding that 3-point shot will make me a lot harder to defend.”
During our viewings, Clark was the best player this spring with the Iowa Mavericks Purple 17U, one of the state’s most talented grassroots squads. He reflected on his time spent with that team.
“It was a ton of fun. We added a lot of new guys and it just made for a great summer,” he said.
“Coach Miguel (Villagrana) always told everyone to focus on what they need to do to get better for their upcoming high school season. So I was able to focus on getting a lot of 3-point shots up and getting to the rim, and just fine-tuning those parts of my game.”
Last season, as a junior with the Hawks, Clark had a breakout season, scoring 15.7 points per game and dishing out 4.0 assists while nabbing 5.5 rebounds to boot.
Now, as a senior, Clark will lead what could be a very good Prairie squad.
“With scorers like Jake (Eilers) and Max (Smith-Drahos) gone, I’ll be taking on a little bit more of a scoring role,” said Clark. “And we have probably three core scorers with me Kris (Murray) and Keegan (Murray). And I’m excited to see a lot of potential role players who will be big for us throughout the year.”