KSR Women's Basketball
Kenny Brooks confirms Clara Strack will return to Kentucky for senior season
There wasn’t a whole lot of good to take away from the Texas game, but after the fact, Kenny Brooks confirmed that Clara Strack would be back for her senior season. KSR can confirm that Strack has already re-signed to return to the team next year.
“We have an All-American center coming back next year,” Brooks said after the game. He also brought up how Strack is one of five finalists for the Lisa Leslie award which is given annually to the nation’s top center. However, what sets her apart from her four counterparts is that she is a junior, while the rest are seniors.
Brooks mentioned how Strack is the only junior of the five finalists, meaning that “she’s coming back and she’s coming back to us.”
This season, the 6-foot-5 center averaged 16.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She was named All-SEC First Team as well as SEC All-Defensive Team. On top that, Strack was an All-American Honorable Mention by both the USBWA and AP.
Against Texas, Strack put up 16 points and five rebounds while going 2-4 from beyond the arc, and in the two tournament games prior, she posted 10 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals against James Madison and had 18 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks at West Virginia.
Strack will be viewed as one of the best players in the country heading into next season, regardless of position. It was pivotal for Brooks to bring her back, and now, we know that he is.
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