Skyy Clark explains decision to shut down high school season

At the end of January, future Kentucky guard Skyy Clark opted out of the remainder of his junior season due to COVID-19 concerns. In a new interview with SI’s Jason Jordan, Clark sheds more light on that decision, which he says he made on behalf of his family, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus, himself included. Clark contracted the virus in February 2020…right after his visit to Kentucky.

“I think I was the first one to get it back before it really got big. It was back in February of 2020, I believe. It was actually after I took my Kentucky visit. I came back and I was out of it for a week and a half. I think I was the first one with it before it really got known like that. Six out of the eight members of my family got it, so it’s been going through the family.”

“For me, it was pretty rough,” Clark said of his experience with COVID. “I’m not going to lie. It’s like the flu but on steroids. I was stuck in bed, I could barely move. My body was aching. I had headaches the whole entire day. My congestion, it was terrible.”

Clark attends Ensworth School in Nashville and made the call to end his season right after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee lifted restrictions on attendance at indoor school sporting events. Clark told Jordan that once his father contracted the virus and couldn’t spend Christmas with the family because he was in quarantine, he knew he didn’t want to put anyone else at risk, especially given the crowds at some of his games.

“During games, I don’t really think about anything besides the game but after games, especially in Tennessee, I mean, for our home games, there were restrictions, but for away games, I mean, if you saw our first game of the season at Brentwood [High], the place was pretty much packed. Most of the gyms are like that, especially when we play. Just seeing that out here in Tennessee, it’s kind of like living normal life out here. There are not really a lot of restrictions.”

Clark says he’s still training hard on his own to prepare for next season. He didn’t say anything about potentially reclassifying, so for now, it appears that will be at Ensworth, not Kentucky.

For more, including the full interview, click below.

[SI All-American]