Illinois Transfer Guard Skyy Clark Commits to Louisville

The former member of the Fighting Illini was a five-star prospect coming out of high school.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Following four transfer portal defections, the Louisville men's basketball program has landed their first commitment via the portal this offseason.

Skyy Clark, a former guard at Illinois and five-star recruit coming out of high school, announced Thursday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He entered the transfer portal on the first day of its 60-day window this past Monday, and is coming off of an official visit to campus.

"Today I am excited to announce my commitment to the University of Louisville," Clark posted on Twitter. "I am ready to play for Coach Kenny Payne and the city of Louisville. The time is now to chase my dream with Coach KP and staff but even bigger than that, the dream for Louisville Basketball!

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound point guard was able to crack the starting rotation for the Fighting Illini as a true freshman, playing in their first 13 games of the season with 12 starts. During that stretch, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.7 assists and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on three-point attempts.

Back on Jan. 6, the Los Angeles native announced that he would be stepping away from basketball due to "personal reasons." He would not play another game for the Fighting Illini.

Coming out of high school, the Los Angeles native was ranked as the No. 33 overall prospect in the Class of 2022's final 247Sports Composite rankings. The Montverde (Fla.) Academy guard peaked as high as No. 10 in the metric. Clark was a one-time Kentucky signee before asking for his release from his National Letter of Intent and eventually choosing Illinois.

Head coach Kenny Payne will still have to bring in more guards via the portal, but landing Clark is a great first step when it comes to building next season's backcourt. Among other factors, a lack of quality guard depth played a significant role in Louisville going just 4-28 in Payne's first year at the helm.

The Cardinals had just three scholarship guards in 2022-23: El Ellis, Hercy Miller and Fabio Basili. Ellis led the Cardinals in scoring at 17.7 points per game, but Miller and Basili combined to average just 3.4 points per game. Ellis has the option to return for next season but has yet to make a decision, Miller is expected to be reverted to a walk-on next season, and Basili has already entered the transfer portal.

Since the Louisville's season ended last Tuesday, roster construction for next season has been in full swing. Basili, Kamari Lands, Devin Ree and Sydney Curry have all entered the portal, while the Cardinals landed a commitment from 2023 five-star center Dennis Evans on Sunday. Louisville is also welcoming top-70 wings Kaleb Glenn and Curtis Williams Jr. plus JUCO guard Koron Davis as part of their Class of 2023.

Clark's commitment is the latest in a string of increased recruiting momentum for Louisville. On top of landing both Evans and Clark over the last few days, the Cardinals are seen as the presumptive leader for 2024 five-star wing Trentyn Flowers, who is set to commit this Friday and could potentially reclassify to 2023. UofL was also named as one of two finalists for 2024 top-five wing Carter Bryant on Monday.

(Photo of Skyy Clark: Ron Johnson - USA TODAY Sports)

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Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic