The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the parents, fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The Sweet 16/Elite 8 are taking place in 4 cities around the country and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from Los Angeles with a Clemson locker room interview.
SR G Jack Clark
Your grandfather John Parker was 1 of the 1st African-American referees in the NBA: how close were you 2 before he passed away in 2018? We were very tight: he was my mom’s father and only lived about 30 minutes away from our house so I would often go watch TV with him at his home.
You transferred to Clemson from NC State last year: do you still talk to any of your former teammates who are also in the Sweet 16 this week? Those are still my guys and we talk all the time: the team they have this year is not exactly the same as last year but some of my old teammates are still there (DJ Burns/Casey Morsell/etc.).
You missed 10 games this year due to leg/groin injuries: how is your health? I feel good, certainly better than before, but am still not 100%.
You had a 24-PT loss to BC in the 2nd round of the ACC tourney: what was working so well for your team in the 1st/2nd rounds of the NCAA tourney last week? Everyone is playing together in an unselfish manner. We are all playing hard and scoring PTS whenever we can.
What do you know about Arizona? They are big/fast/can shoot/are physical. It is a Baylor-type of situation so we will use a similar game plan.
Check back for a lot more access all week long!