Raiquan Clark

Raiquan Clark
ART Giants Düsseldorf
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueProA
Personal information
Born (1995-08-19) August 19, 1995 (age 29)
New Haven, Connecticut
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2020: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–22Panthers Schwenningen
2022–23Albacete Basket
2023B.B.C. Etzella
2023-presentSG ART Giants Düsseldorf
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× First-team All-NEC (2019, 2020)
  • Third-team All-NEC (2018)

Raiquan Clark (born August 19, 1995) is an American basketball player for SG ART Giants Düsseldorf of the ProA.[1] He played college basketball for the LIU Sharks and the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds, leaving as the program's all-time leading scorer.

High school career

Clark attended Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Connecticut. In his junior season, he won the Class LL state championship.[2] As a senior, he averaged 15.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, three assists and three steals per game.[3] He also led Hillhouse to a Southern Connecticut Conference Hammonasset Division title and was a two-time New Haven Register All-Area selection. Clark did not receive any NCAA Division I scholarship offers after his senior season and attended Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, New York for a postgraduate year to gain more interest.[4] He helped his team achieve a 17–6 record and a New England Preparatory School Athletic Council quarterfinals berth.[2] Clark did not hold any Division I offers by the end of the season. He sent emails, including his highlights and statistics, to over 1,000 coaches representing every Division I program but failed to draw an offer.[5]

College career

As a freshman, Clark played for LIU Brooklyn as a preferred walk-on but vowed to his mother, Shontay Watts, that he would eventually earn a scholarship.[6] In his only appearance, he played two minutes in a loss to Dartmouth.[5] As a sophomore, he was awarded a full scholarship and averaged 6.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.[2] On November 10, 2017, Clark scored a career-high 34 points in a 102–96 loss to Tulane.[7] In his junior season, he averaged 17.3 points and seven rebounds per game, earning Third Team All-Northeast Conference (NEC) honors. He led LIU Brooklyn to the 2018 NEC tournament championship, scoring 20 points in a 71–61 victory over top-seeded Wagner, and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.[6] As a senior, Clark averaged an NEC-high 18.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and two assists per game and was named to the First Tetam All-NEC.[4] On February 8, 2020, he passed Jamal Olasewere to become the all-time leading scorer for LIU and LIU Brooklyn.[8] In his redshirt senior season at LIU, Clark averaged 19.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, leading the NEC in scoring and making the First Team All-NEC for a second straight year. He became the seventh player in NEC history to record at least 2,000 career points.[9]

Professional career

In June 2021, Clark signed his first professional contract with Panthers Schwenningen of the German ProA.[10]

References

  1. ^ "ART Giants verpflichten US-Amerikaner Raiquan Clark aus Luxemburg". Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Riley, Lori (July 15, 2017). "Raiquan Clark Stars In Debut Of Greater Hartford Pro-Am". The Capital. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  3. ^ Morelli, Joe (April 18, 2014). "2014 New Haven Register All-Area Boys Basketball Team". New Haven Register. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Taylor, Adam (June 9, 2020). "Raiquan Clark, the walk-on who took the NEC by storm". The 450 Times. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Kussoy, Howie (February 16, 2019). "How former walk-on willed his way to stardom at LIU Brooklyn". New York Post. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  6. ^ a b Borges, David (August 14, 2018). "Hard work has led to success for Raiquan Clark at Long Island University, and in Greater Hartford Pro-Am". New Haven Register. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  7. ^ "Reynolds scores 24, leads Tulane past LIU Brooklyn 102-96". USA Today. Associated Press. November 11, 2017. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  8. ^ "Clark, Flowers set New Records as Men's Basketball Downs Merrimack in OT". Long Island University. February 8, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  9. ^ Torenli, John (March 24, 2020). "LIU's Raiquan Clark receives All-District honor". Brooklyn Eagle. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  10. ^ Schmidt-Scheuber, Miles (June 27, 2021). "Raiquan Clark (wiha Panthers) Is Ready To Prove That He Could Be That Next Special Player For Alen Velcic". Eurobasket. Retrieved June 27, 2021.