Background

I predicted last year that Kihei Clark would be a fan favorite by the end of the year.  I did not predict he would do so by making the greatest pass in NCAA Tournament history.  (Come at me, Duke fans.  Grant Hill had the luxury of a stopped clock – and one that wouldn’t start until the ball landed in someone’s hands.)  It felt like Clark was in the starting lineup all year – and he certainly seized control of the point guard spot – but in actuality Clark started just over half of UVA’s games last year.  When he did get going, he was as advertised – a colossal pest – but also a lightning rod for criticism.  Some UVA fans didn’t like his limited scoring, other UVA fans didn’t like Jack Salt’s limited scoring, and the overlap between the two really hated when the two were on the court at the same time.  Which is exactly where they were when Clark threw that pass.

Strengths

Let’s put this all in context of That Play.  First, let me rip off this section from last year:

“Kihei has a great handle and is a pinpoint passer.  He’s got a knack of getting rid of it at the right time and in the right place for his teammate, and can make the right pass both long and short.”

Boy did that come in handy.  Clark’s pass to Mamadi Diakite exhibited every single one of these traits.  Handle: After chasing down that tap-out, Clark turned on a dime while dribbling back upcourt.  Right time: uh, yeah.  Right place: Even more so.  There wasn’t time for Diakite to even bring the ball up from his waist.  Clark’s pass was not only to the right player, but to the only place it could go for the recipient to get the shot off in time.  Long and short: the pass was about half the length of the court.

Kihei is also a pain in the ass on defense; against VCU he singlehandedly induced a 10-second backcourt call that had Tony Bennett leaping off the sidelines in excitement.  But the biggest skill he has, which really is what ties his game together, is a needle-sharp basketball sense that every one of his other strengths feeds off of.  Clark’s “feel” for the game is simply elite.

Weaknesses

If his feel for the game is what drives all his strengths, you can probably guess what drives his weaknesses.  At five foot nine on stilts, Kihei obviously has trouble guarding a lot of players.  His spot at point guard means he’s often the first one back on defense if the possession goes pear-shaped, which isn’t real helpful because he might find himself trying to stop anyone from his own man to some 6’9” forward.  And despite his pesky nature, he didn’t actually get a lot of steals last year; you’d like to see him pick a few more unsuspecting pockets.

Offensively, his height takes away a lot of chances at the rim.  Even early on last year, it was clear he’d learned some ways to compensate for that; it was also clear he’d have to learn even better ways to compensate against college players whose size didn’t cost them any agility.  He shot only 36% from inside the arc last year, and less than 50% at the rim, meaning teams don’t really respect his drives at the bucket, nor do they need to.

Role

This one’s easy.  He’s the starting point guard.  And that means taking on 30-35 minutes a game and a leadership role as a sophomore.  All the team’s seniors are frontcourt players, and, not to take anything away from their leadership abilities because they’ll be leaned on hard, but when the chips are down, leadership has to come from the guy with the ball.

Reasonable Expectations

Clark came in last year pretty close to game-ready.  There may not be any great big leaps forward in development in the cards for him, which really says more about where he was already than his potential (which is still admittedly limited by his height.)  Incremental improvement is what you’re looking for here, and an always-on ability to keep the offense running smoothly and putting his teammates in position to score.

Optimistic Expectations

The most room for improvement, and the most likely area to see it, is in his long-range shooting.  Clark isn’t bad, but he needs an open shot; creating his own is mostly out of the question.  That said, open opportunities aren’t lacking, and he’s a top-notch free-throw shooter – meaning there’s a good chance he can improve from distance as well.  The best-case, despite the outward movement of the arc this year, is to see Clark become a good enough three-point shooter that opponents open up the rest of the court by fearing his shot.

Final Analysis

It’s hard to avoid the London Perrantes comparisons, what with them both being undersized point guards from California and all.  Kihei Clark plays a faster-paced game, though; where Perrantes would be patient, Clark will force the issue a little.  But like Perrantes, he’ll be a workhorse for the next three years.  He’ll continue making pinpoint passes, and keep refining his abilities within the context of his limited size.  We know what we’re getting in Clark for the next three years, and that’s going to be a critical source of stability for the program going forward.