Sitting in the Calabasas living room with Florida born Kenny Clark, his 3 year old Monroe jumps on him like he's an oversized NFL teddy bear and giggles at him. He sweetly asks her, "How's your day mama?"
She looks over at her big bro and blurts out "That's my bruder Skyy, I'm proud of him." She has adorable turned all the way up, which isn't hard since her gracious and classy mom, Sarah is a dead ringer for Vanessa Williams.
Monroe doesn't know that recruiting outlets have Skyy Clark as the 8th rated player in his class. She doesn't care, and neither does Skyy. He's ALL fam first, along with God, that's all that matters. Period.
The basketball world is abuzz with this 6-2 whiz of a point guard. But you'd never know it from talking to Skyy who is as humble as it gets. Only a few weeks into his 8th grade year, he’s already committed to play for DePaul University, along with his friend Amari Bailey.
I've been knowing Skyy's pops, K-Clark for nearly a year, def the most multi dimensional person I ever met. He's the ultimate family man, even as he caught passes en route to being a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.
I kept asking myself, how can it be that this father and son combo are the most mellow and chill tandem, yet the most driven dudes ever?
"Ken Dog", as I call him, trusted me to know his motivational turning point growing up, "My uncle came up to me on the couch when I was young and said, 'You aren't going to amount to squat.' "
In that moment he decided to show him, and everyone.
K-Clark walked straight up to an atomic particle and, through force and determination, bent its proton double helix to create his own nuclear fission and energize all his dreams to come true.
Pure heart and willpower it took and you can hear the emotion in his voice, "I gave tears and sweat. With my cousins Dante Culpepper and Julius Wilson, guided by my brother Steve Rhem, we all trained non-stop.
We'd play against any and everybody. We'd even have organized games vs. guys in the state and federal prisons to find grown men comp that could raise our game. We needed to show the world we could all be in the NFL, and we did."
Kenny incredibly never missed a day of school from kindergarten to college, except the day he had chicken pox. #That's driven
Fast forward to Skyy in 5th grade. This 11 year old dreams of playing with a local all star AAU team in LA and his dad pleads with the coach to bring him on board. Then Skyy sees everyone get burn besides himself.
In that moment Skyy feels forsaken and crushed.
Kenny sees this and tells Skyy he knows the way - it's time for Skyy to bend the double helix, to look inside his own DNA to energize his dream, to transform himself from a gas powered submarine to an atomic powered Titan Class instrument of destruction.
Eight months they submerged themselves in working out, instead of AAU, in the aquatic lab of intense pro skill training, 7 days a week, 6 hours a day.
The Result?
Young bull breaches the surface with volleys of atomic powered kiloton offense. Skyy gained confidence and the skills that let him go on to play for an even better team than the one that dissed him, balling for The Frogg All Stars.
Sponsored by rapper The Game, Skyy felt appreciated now.
His mom Sarah is his biggest fan. She trusts the process and is so happy that Skyy is now living his dream. Kenny had showed him how to create his own destiny filled with mushroom clouds of fantastic dribbles, crossovers, pull up in yo face J's.
Skyy decided he'd never sit on the bench again.
Young Skyy has had the best set of pro trainers I can imagine to guide him - J-Harden level trainers like Keion Kindred, Core Prep Academy, Olin Simplis, Johnny “Dribble2Much”, and Ernie Ford.
They've all told me he's a great kid, that Skyy sponges it all up like a 12 pack of Brawny towels.
The result of his effort? This past summer as a 7th grader he played on the 15 and under Pump N Run AAU team, averaging 16 ppg and 9 assists per game. Skyy recently played well in the Air West league in LA , which is filled with grown men, pro players and is as competitive as the Drew League.
https://instagram.com/p/BVtUcv3FCu0/
(Air West League)
Will you ever hear Skyy brag about it? Never. He knows it's a long road to college and there's no time for patting yourself on the back.
He credits a higher power that constantly inspires him, "I give all the glory to God, honor Him always. I'm happiest when I get to teach younger kids how to play basketball. High school kids don't always take the time to help younger kids, but I will. It's important to prepare people younger than yourself to take on challenges.
“Even with my little brother ZZ, we love having fun and hooping or playing NBA 2K. Rankings don't make you, your family does. My parents have 6 kids and we all get treated equally, no favorites. I'm not going to favor basketball over family and God, that's my core."
This 4.0 student is a chill guy off the court, never too up or too down. I ask Skyy how do you feel on the court when balling?
"In a game I get it pumped up and remind myself I'm in control, that I can't be beat by an opponent or myself. It's a rush to play this game. Other guards try to talk trash, but I'm not phased, that just brings out the turbo mode in me."
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uDaNdHzyh9Q&feature=youtu.be. (6th grade summer)
I asked him how he keeps his poise out there and he explained, "I've cut down my workouts lately to 2-3 hours a day, 5 days a week to rest my body. I love to go over vintage games watching my favorite old-school players like Stephon Marbury, MJ, Kobe, to see how they handled themselves with poise.
“I really appreciate New York point guards like Isaiah Washington. NYC guards have this swagger and handle. I'm hopeful to score 2,000 points in high school and win a state chip, God willing."
My trusted friends all advised me "not to gas Skyy" when I told them I was doing his story. Comparing him to another player, others reminded me, would put even more pressure on him because he's already got a target in his back, that's true.
But when you see a kid who dribbles like Bruce Lee used to gracefully handle the nunchucks, when you witness a masterful display of skills on the court that brings you back to the first time you heard a Tupac song, how can you deny that?
It's not about "gas" with Skyy because he's powered by a higher spiritual power. He's always telling me "I really like pressure, it makes me better."
I've heard Skyy say this over and over for a nearly a year with a smile on his face. You start to believe he runs off nuclear fission. His footsteps must leave radioactive signatures because God is walking with him every step of the way.
He's that at peace with himself, on a journey to be the best he can be.
I asked him how is it that you’re so shifty in your game on the court? He comes back humbly listing all the other super shifty Cali players in his 2022 class, "I like other point guards who have moves like Aiden Mahoney, Malik Moore, Barrington Hargress."
Skyy never wants it to be about him, it's props to others. He knows that others are always constantly improving themselves and that knowledge keeps him grinding harder than a cave man pounding stones together.
You could talk to Skyy and his brother ZZ for hours about their fav current players like LeBron, Kyrie, and KD, how they admire Duke and its past legends such as JJ Reddick.
They'll go into such detail if you ask them why they love Tupac's music. You come to realize it's the passion that ignites them like few youngsters I've ever talked to.
It's the same with their lil sisters. None of the girls are pushed into sports but Ken Dog and Sarah are happy and accepting that their daughters have decided to be "girly girls". They'll help them be the best doll playing kids they can be. 100
It's ironic that Skyy's fav song is Hit Em Up by Tupac. I think the lyrics that define his potential are,
"Tryna to come up off of me, you in the clouds, hopin’."
Whether Skyy Clark is 800 feet below in his nuclear powered sub, or surfacing to launch missiles high, he is powered by this tremendous drive.
Make no mistake: his potential is headed for the clouds because The Skyy is the limit for this humble young man, spiritually uplifted to reach toward heaven and his lofty goals.
