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Keon Clark Wowing Them In Denver
Newcomer Clark is talk of Nuggets [Image]
Skinny youngster shows skill as a shot blocker
By Dave Krieger
News Staff Writer
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AIR FORCE ACADEMY -- The sights and sounds of
the early workouts of Denver Nuggets training
camp this year have included more oohs and
aahs than usual.
Some of that is because the workouts are open to the
public.
Some is because of Antonio McDyess and his famous 42-inch
vertical leap.
But a surprising number of jaws have been dropping because
of Keon Clark.
Clark's vertical is not what McDyess' is -- Nuggets
director of scouting Kim Hughes thinks his former employer,
the Bucks, measured it at 28 inches before the draft last
June -- but his wingspan and quickness are something else.
Almost everyone trying to get off a shot within 10 feet of
the basket in the early scrimmages has heard that sick
sound of the shot being slapped away from behind before it
even takes flight.
"His upside's fantastic," Hughes said of the 6-foot-11,
rail-thin shot blocker from Nevada-Las Vegas. "I think he
has the willingness to learn. I think he's a driven kid.
He's got a few weaknesses, but I think the future and the
innate talent he has overshadows any of those doubts."
Around the league, Clark was ranked among the top five
athletes in the 1998 draft. So why was he drafted No. 13 by
Orlando?
"The reason he was drafted lower, he had a personal problem
at UNLV," Hughes said. "That situation's been addressed.
That lowered his draft status and, naturally, his money.
But he's a driven kid, and I think he wants this badly. I
don't think he'll mess up again. I think he knows the
parameters involved."
Clark's personal problem was testing positive for marijuana
early in his senior season at UNLV. He was kicked off the
team after only 10 games.
Clark's friends pointed out this infraction did not require
expulsion from the team and blamed the outcome on a
personality conflict with UNLV coach Bill Bayno. But NBA
executives, noting that Clark had to know a drug test would
be taken sometime during the NCAA season, were dismayed.
"It was just basically when you're not used to bright
lights and big city, you do things that you wouldn't
usually do," Clark said Saturday. "That's what I did. I
partook in the wrong things, and it got me in trouble. You
break the rules, you've got to suffer the consequences.
Luckily enough, it wasn't enough for me to be out for a
whole year or hinder me from making it to this level."
Clark admitted he has not been practicing his draft-night
speech since he was 7.
"It was never really a dream of mine to make it to the
league," he said. "I've been blessed with the ablities and
attributes that I have, so I use them to the best of my
ability. I used basketball to get a free education. I
wasn't thinking NBA, NBA. I didn't know I really had a
chance until my junior season at UNLV."
Now, through a series of odd circumstances, his remarkable
athletic attributes have fallen into the lap of the
Nuggets, who acquired Clark and small forward Johnny Taylor
from Orlando last week for next to nothing -- the lower of
the club's two first-round draft picks next year -- just so
the Magic could clear room beneath the salary cap with
which to sign free-agent center Isaac Austin.
For the moment, Clark is backup to another rookie, No. 3
pick Raef LaFrentz, at center. But Nuggets coach Mike
D'Antoni sees a variety of possibilities.
"I think we can also go Antonio, Keon and Raef, or Antonio,
Danny Fortson and Raef," he said. "Because Antonio can
guard (small forwards) and Keon can guard a (small
forward). So we can go big if we've got problems
rebounding."
And the prospect of McDyess and Clark patrolling the paint
would raise questions for any opponent's inside game. But
Clark is so painfully skinny, he'll need defensive help on
almost any NBA big man, so his minutes are likely to be
limited in the early going. Still, general manager Dan
Issel was glad to get him so cheap.
"We did as much detective work as you possibly can," he
said. "There were some problems, but he's certainly a kid
worth taking a chance on."
At least for public consumption, Clark claims to value that
chance.
"I was always tall," he said. "Basketball was something
that came easy to me. I was blessed enough to be
left-handed, be able to jump well and have quickness for my
size. I guess everybody's put here for a reason. I found my
calling."
January 24, 1999
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