Here’s how ‘patience’ paid off for Clemson forward and Cheltenham native Jack Clark

Jack Clark lives by a tattoo behind his right ear. “Patience” is written vertically, with the ‘P’ by his earlobe and the ‘E’ halfway down his neck. He got it sometime during his 2019-20 season at La Salle, which he spent rehabbing from the second ACL injury to his left knee.

When Clark got the tattoo, he didn’t know just how long he’d have to be patient.

Four years later, after 10 injuries, seven surgeries, and two trips to the transfer portal, Clark’s patience is paying off. He’s a starter and defensive stalwart for a 23-11 Clemson squad two wins away from the program’s first Final Four. It’s taken time, yes, and more than just a little patience, but the sixth-year forward is living out his NCAA Tournament dreams.

“It’s a great feeling, a lot of emotions,” Clark said. “And the emotions are good.”

Basketball is a Clark family tradition. His father, John, was the junior varsity coach at Cheltenham High. His grandfather, John Parker, was Millersville’s first basketball All-American, then became an NBA referee, notably working his first game in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA debut.

However, the grandson, Jack, didn’t take basketball seriously until middle school. While Clark was a solid player at Cheltenham High, standing 6-foot-2, he wasn’t receiving much attention. Then, during his junior year, he grew 6 inches, which had pros and cons.

“The clothes were terrible,” said Clark, who now is listed at 6-10. “Everything I would wear would at first cover my ankles. Now, you can see my ankles, some part of my shin. Same with my hoodies. … That’s a whole new wardrobe you had to get adjusted to.”

His recruitment shot up, too, as coaches wanted to see the lanky forward with guard skills. However, even with 16 offers, Clark committed to John Giannini and La Salle, 15 minutes from home. He stayed with his commitment even when Giannini was let go and Villanova assistant Ashley Howard was hired.

“Jack was my guy, man. He was my guy,” Howard said. “If there was one player that I was like, 1,000% committed to, [it] was him, because I looked at him like he was going to be our next great La Salle Explorer.”

Then came disaster. Just after Clark committed, he landed awkwardly after a fast-break dunk, tearing his ACL.

“It was definitely disappointing,” said then-Cheltenham assistant coach Patrick Fleury, now the head coach and Cheltenham’s athletic director. “ … But it wasn’t what defined him.”

It was the first time he’d been sidelined. It wouldn’t be the last.

» READ MORE: Q&A: Bill Raftery on preparing for the Sweet 16, playing at La Salle, and his signature ‘Onions!’ call

His La Salle debut couldn’t have come under a brighter spotlight. A 2018 Saturday afternoon matchup with reigning national champ Villanova at the Palestra? Sure, why not?

Clark had missed the first seven games of the season as he finished his rehab, but he played 27 minutes and hit three three-pointers against the No. 23-ranked Wildcats. He scored 21 against Bucknell three days later, then started as the Explorers hosted Penn.

His fast start was short-lived. In just the ninth game of his college career, Clark tore the same ACL. A month-and-a-half after returning to the court, Clark was back on the sideline.

“I think my body wasn’t ready for that quick of a growth spurt,” Clark said.

He leaned on his mental toughness as he repeated the rehab process, this time through a global pandemic. He played all but one game in 2020-21, starting 19 of 24 contests and averaging 9.9 points. Clark had some discomfort in his groin and played through it, thinking it was just a pull, but when he was evaluated after the season, doctors found he’d torn a labrum in his hip. The process began anew.

At first, Clark wondered why this was happening to him. Then his perspective shifted.

“Once I got a little older and got more mentally strong, that kind of went out the window a bit,” Clark said. “I said, ‘This is what it is. You’ve got to deal with it and get through it.’”

His final season was his best as an Explorer. In more than 30 minutes per game, Clark averaged 12 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. But when Howard was fired in March, Clark entered the transfer portal.

Outside of Philly for the first time, Clark joined North Carolina State. He became a starter for the Wolfpack, scoring 15 in his debut against Austin Peay and a season-high 21 in his fourth game facing Elon. Still, injuries weren’t far behind.

Clark missed the first 10 games of the 2022-23 season with a groin/hip injury, a short-term injury that persisted. After flashing his potential in four February games, he suffered a shoulder injury on a hard fall and was sidelined again. He played in the final four games, including 39 minutes in an NCAA Tournament first-round loss to Creighton, but reentered the portal a week later. Clark eventually chose Clemson over Villanova, Xavier, and Arkansas.

» READ MORE: NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal already loaded and impacting Big 5 schools

What was meant as a new beginning was originally more of the same. After undergoing sports hernia surgery in the offseason, Clark dealt with a groin injury at the beginning of the season. He played through it at first but was sidelined for 10 games. Yet again, Clark had to be patient.

After losing six of nine games, Clemson needed a spark. It found it in a finally healthy Clark, who was inserted into the starting lineup. The Tigers won the next six of seven games, including beating North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Clark has remained a starter in No. 6 seed Clemson’s NCAA Tournament wins over No. 11 New Mexico and No. 3 Baylor.

It took Clark five years — and a lot of patience — just to reach the tournament. Now, in his sixth season, he’s a key part of a March Madness run. He’s not the only one enjoying it.

“It’s nothing but jubilation, honestly,” Fleury said. “ … It just gives [students] a sense of understanding that if you do things the right way, and keep the right attitude, then anything truly is possible.”

“Nobody deserves it more than him, with all that he’s been through and the role that he’s playing for Clemson,” Howard added. “I’m rooting for him. I want Clemson to win because I want Jack Clark to win.”

Clark and the Tigers face No. 2 seed Arizona in the Sweet 16 in Los Angeles on Thursday (7:09 p.m., CBS). His final game is near, regardless of whether it’s Thursday or in the national championship. However, this mindset is nothing new for him.

“Just play everything like it is your last,” Clark said. “Don’t leave anything else on the court that you wish you could have back. And just make sure whatever you do, you give it your all.”