Kentucky signee Skyy Clark makes season debut following ACL surgery

Kentucky guard signee Skyy Clark is back. Just six months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL, the five-star prospect made his season debut Thursday afternoon.

In a head-to-head matchup of the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams in Montverde Academy and Sunrise Christian, Clark finished with three points (0-6 FG, 0-4 3PT, 3-4 FT), seven assists, four rebounds and three turnovers in his return to game action.

It came in a losing effort, as Clark’s No. 1 Montverde Eagles fell to No. 2 SCA by a final score of 71-61.

Playing on a minutes restriction — he played just 22 minutes — the Kentucky signee had a solid debut for a player just six months removed from major knee surgery. While he couldn’t get his shot to fall, Clark picked up where he left off as a distributor, showing off elite court vision and high basketball IQ as a lead guard. He whipped the ball around for easy assist opportunities and looked to dish on his paint touches, finding drop-off passes down low and catch-and-shoot looks on the perimeter. Two of his turnovers were would-be assists on clean catches for his teammates.

As a scorer, Clark’s attempts were limited to mid-range and 3-point jumpers, with two floaters resulting in fouls and free-throw attempts — he knocked down three of four. His defense was solid for the most part, as well, slowly adjusting back to live game speed. He was a step slow on a few closeouts on the perimeter and got beat backdoor a time or two, but that’s to be expected in his current position. On-ball and transition defense was a plus.

Overall, it’s a step in the right direction for a player who’s been out of high school basketball for 12 months and off the court completely for six.

It was the first of three games for Clark at the NIBC La Porte Invitational, with Montverde set to take on Bishop Walsh (MD) on Friday at 5 p.m. ET (ESPN+) and La Lumiere (IN) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+).

Kentucky forward signee Chris Livingston also played in the event Thursday, scoring 15 points in a 91-49 win for Oak Hill over Wasatch Academy. He finished 5-10 from the field, 2-4 from three and 3-4 from the line to go with five rebounds, two steals, one assist and five turnovers.

Like Clark, Livingston will be back on the floor tomorrow and Saturday, with Oak Hill taking on La Lumiere at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2) on Friday and Bishop Walsh at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+) on Saturday.

Welcome back, Skyy Clark.