Evaluating Darion Clark to USC

When Andy Enfield took over Florida Gulf Coast he immediately turned to the transfer market in order to upgrade the talent on the roster. So it's no surprise that he's doing the same thing at USC.

And just like at FGCU, Enfield isn't necessarily looking for the quick fix. While his team was earning the name 'Dunk City' in last year's tournament, two of his most talented players were sitting out the year on the bench after transferring. He had 6-6 Jamail Jones from Marquette and 6-10 Nate Hicks from Georgia Tech. And this was after his first recruit – Eric McKnight from Iowa State – sat out the previous year. And now Clark will be in the same boat.

Enfield has only been a head coach for two years, so it's too soon to call it a pattern. He certainly doesn't appear to have any issues bringing in guys and having them spend a year learning the system.

The problem is that he needs the help right now. Several seniors are gone, and Dwayne Dedmon left for professional basketball. But this is a perk of a 1st year head coach – the fans will be at least a little bit patient as he builds the roster.

Clark is an undersized 6-6 power forward who played 42% of the minutes for Charlotte last year. The most minutes he played all year came in the season opener, and by the time the year ended he was playing 7 minutes a game in the post season. It's easy to see why he might be looking for a new start.

The good news is that he's a bull (230 pounds) and is a very good rebounder. He grabbed 10% of his own team's misses, and 19% of defensive boards, both of which were in the top 20 in the A10. He also converted 54% of his 2s, and blocked 3.8% of shots when he was on the floor.

The downside – and where he'll benefit from a year of just practice – was that while he was good at getting to the line (drew 5.0 fouls/40) he was awful (46%) from the line. He also had turnover issues and had the highest turnover rate on the team.

All told, he averaged 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds for a good team.

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