Stephen Clark shares decision to take reduced role: 'I just want to do whatever I can for the team'
In today’s age of college basketball, you’ll have a hard time finding many players like Stephen Clark.
Not every player would be willing to sacrifice their starting spot, let alone as a fifth-year, to give way for a freshman. But that’s exactly what Clark did. And he has no regrets about it.
“I’m just here to do whatever I can to help this team win,” Clark told GamecockCentral. “That’s why I came here from the beginning. I could have stayed at a mid-major level and been more of a focal point. But I wanted to come here. When I was recruited here, I told (Lamont Paris) like, I just want to do whatever I can for the team.”
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At the beginning of the year, Clark was a regular starter at the five for South Carolina. But after starting in 15 games, a young freshman by the name of Collin Murray-Boyles returned to game action after dealing with mono.
“He obviously got sick early in the season, he would’ve been starting,” Clark said. “Tried to do whatever I could to help the team and then he came back and obviously he’s the best freshman in our league. So I’m just doing what I can. I’m happy. I’m happy being here, happy with coaches, they treat me well.”
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As the story goes, Clark and Paris had a conversation to move Murray-Boyles into the starting spot where Clark had been playing. It was a move that made sense as Clark wasn’t playing as well, while Murray-Boyles was on the rise.
“I mean, you guys can watch him play and know that he’s the best freshman in the SEC. And he’ll be an NBA player at some point,” Clark said. “When I was recruited here, I just wanted to do what’s best for the team. I don’t want to get up in the playing time and this and that. They want to be the scout team player, I’ll be a scout team player. They want me to play 40 minutes, I’ll play 40 minutes. I’ll do whatever it takes. And I could tell that he was starting to get his footing back. I think that’s when he took his next step. I think he needed that confidence boost to the level that he’s at now. And I’m super happy for him.”
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Since making the switch to being an off-the-bench guy, Clark hasn’t played a ton of minutes. There’s even been games where he didn’t play at all. It was a far contrast from being a regular starter who saw at most 34.6 minutes per game while at The Citadel.
“It’s a lot different when I’m on a shorter leash I feel more like a freshman,” he said. “To be honest, it kind of helps me lock in a little bit more. Like I need to make the most of these four minutes, do whatever coach tells me, ‘Hey, go get some rebounds, go block out.'”
But the move worked out for the best. Murray-Boyles has blossomed into one of the best freshmen in the SEC, averaging 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
And more so than anything, the team has been winning. South Carolina is now in a position where it will be in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. And that’s all Clark can ask for.
“I want to be the guy that they saw starting and then now I’m not playing as much,” Clark said when asked how he wants to be remembered. “I want them to say like, ‘Oh, he’s still bought in. He’s still a great teammate on the bench. He’s just happy with his situation.'”
