The basketball world continues to grieve the death of Terrence Clarke, a former University of Kentucky men’s basketball player who died in a car accident Thursday in Chatsworth.
Clarke, 19, was hoping to be selected in July’s NBA draft. The 6-foot-7 guard had just signed with Klutch Sports Group, a sports management company, on Wednesday and was working out Thursday with Kentucky teammate Brandon Boston Jr. – a former Sierra Canyon High standout – at 1st Place Sports Complex in Chatsworth just before the crash.
Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, an athlete with Klutch Sports, said the news was developing as the team was preparing to practice Thursday.
“We got the news as we were actually running out of the locker room,” Caldwell-Pope said. “Words can’t even explain, you know, the feelings his family is feeling and we all are just praying for him, the family and just got to continue to keep his family strong.”
Lakers teammate LeBron James, the face of Klutch Sports, memorialized Clarke on Instagram: “REST IN PEACE NEPHEW!!!” with the hashtag #YoungKing.
According to Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. John Matassa of the Valley Traffic Division, Clarke and Boston were traveling southbound on Winnetka Avenue in separate vehicles after their workout when Clarke’s 2021 Hyundai Genesis clipped a truck turning left while going through the intersection at Nordhoff Street – less than a mile from 1st Place Sports. Boston and Clarke’s mother were trailing Clarke in separate cars.
“It’s hard to explain the feeling of that. It happened so suddenly,” Caldwell-Pope said. “I don’t really know the story, but kind of heard his mom and brother were following him at the time, so I just couldn’t imagine just seeing that happen.”
Matassa told ESPN that Clarke ran a red light going “at a very high rate of speed.”
Clarke’s vehicle was sent into a street light pole and then a block wall after the initial collision at approximately 2:10 p.m. Clarke, the only person in the vehicle, was taken to nearby Northridge Hospital and later pronounced dead, reportedly with his mother at his side.
John Calipari, Clarke’s basketball coach at Kentucky, posted his thoughts on his site after he arrived in Los Angeles on Friday to be with Clarke’s family.
“His heart was overflowing with love for his family, his friends and his teammates. He was as caring of a person as I have ever coached,” Calipari wrote. “His enthusiasm and energy – not just for basketball, for life – are what we all hope to have in our journey. Terrence had figured that part out – that if you wake up every day with a smile on your face and a joy in everything you do, this life is beautiful.
“I think that is part of the reason why you see unbelievable magnitude of heartache today from everyone across our game and our country. Terrence had that spirit about him that rubbed off on every single person that was fortunate to cross paths with him. He was the person everyone wanted to be around and the guy everyone gravitated to.”
WKYT-TV in Lexington, Kentucky, reported that a candlelight vigil was being held Friday night outside the basketball players’ dormitory, the Wildcat Coal Lodge.
As word got out, Clarke’s name began to trend on Twitter, and so did Boston’s. Questions about Boston’s physical well-being began to trend, alluding to the possibility that Boston was also in the vehicle.
Some believed Clarke and Boston had died in the accident, but a Sierra Canyon assistant basketball coach confirmed Boston was physically fine.
In videos from the crash site, Boston can be seen shirtless on the phone while it appears he’s looking in and around Clarke’s wrecked vehicle.
Clarke, a Boston native who prepped at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, was close to a number of players on the Boston Celtics, including Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown.
Walker was asked about Clarke after Thursday night’s game.
“Very, very, very tough,” Walker told Boston.com. “Very tough news, man. He’s a very, very good kid. Just always smiling, always energetic. And he was about to get his opportunity, too. My condolences to his family. It’s a tough time, man. That’s really tough news to hear.”
Clarke was one of the most highly-recruited players out of Boston in years before signing with Kentucky. He missed most of his freshman season with the Wildcats due to an ankle injury. He appeared in eight total games and made six starts, averaging 9.6 points and 2.6 rebounds.
Brown went on Twitter early Friday morning asking for a tribute to Clarke at the NBA draft on July 29 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
@NBA please let my lil bros name get called this year we need that !!RIP 💚 pic.twitter.com/gzxoGSaMtZ
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) April 23, 2021
Before their game against the Seattle Mariners on Friday, the Boston Red Sox posted a tribute to Clarke at Fenway Park.
Boston’s own.
Our hearts are with the family and friends of Terrence Clarke. pic.twitter.com/q4hHsOENiS
— Red Sox (@RedSox) April 23, 2021
Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, who also played at Brewster Academy, was among NBA players grieving the loss.
“I love you lil bro,” Mitchell posted to Twitter, with a video of a conversation he had with Clarke.
😭😭😭 I love you lil bro 💔 https://t.co/Qc56iX05fp
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) April 23, 2021
Clarke is survived by his parents, Osmine Clarke and Adrian Briggs, and his siblings, Tatyana Gray, Gavin Clarke and Madison Adrianne, according to WKYT-TV.
