Photo by: Seth Seebaugh
Deacon Sports Xtra: Clark Adjusting to Life as a Demon Deacon
1/19/2024 10:12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
After a heralded high school career that ended at Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, NH), 6-foot-6 freshman Aaron Clark is learning from a proven group of upperclassmen guards who are showing him how to operate under head coach Steve Forbes at Wake Forest.
"It's just a long process, being out here, getting adjusted to classes and stuff," Clark said about his transition. "I went to prep school up at Brewster Academy, so I feel like I was pretty prepared for the workload and all of that. But just the time management, staying engaged, getting in with the coaches, watching film and seeing what you can do better are the things I needed to get used to.
"I have just been learning since I've been out here every day — learning something new and just really getting help from the older guys — Cam, Hunter, Boopie and Damari. They've been looking out, teaching me new things every day, being a partner and stuff like that."
When not on the basketball court at the Shah Basketball Complex, Clark hangs out with his teammates in the Chris Paul Family Men's Basketball Clubhouse.
"I feel like we have a good group of guys here and that we all get along really well," he said. "Half of the time we're always hanging out after practices in the locker room playing pool games. The D.C. trip in October brought us closer together and we're grateful to be able to go on these trips and experience all this stuff together.
"I don't think there's any time throughout the day where somebody's not up there doing something, playing on something or in the hot and cold tubs. You can basically live there. We have sleeping pods, we have everything in there, and then we have the gym right downstairs with all-access to that with the keycard. I think that's a plus and an advantage to us that we have that. There's not a lot of schools across the country that have that, so it's just very fortunate for us. And we're literally all in there all day, most of the time on school days during the week."
While appearing in just two games so far this season, Clark came in and made a big impact in the home victory over Charleston Southern with his energy on defense.
"I think it's pretty obvious for every freshman to get on the court, you have to play defense," Clark said. "I'm taking pride in that this year and just trying to keep on going because everybody, almost everybody, can score in this league. I'm trying to do the other things on the court that stick out and give my team energy.
"The guys all tell me to be ready for my moment, to stay locked in — stay engaged, just be ready. So I'm just taking it day by day, staying in the process. Just because I'm not playing that much doesn't mean there's not a chance I can get in the game — so I have to be ready. There's always that chance that you never know about and you have to be ready for. I feel like I was engaged the whole game and I was ready for my moment."
Picking Wake Forest over scholarship offers from schools like Miami, Georgetown, LSU, Xavier, Maryland and Kansas State; Clark showed he was an elite high school player both at Brewster and on the AAU circuit. He's having to push himself now at Wake Forest as he battles daily against bigger, stronger and more experienced upperclassmen.
"I'd say the biggest difference for me is probably playing against these older guys and experienced guys who know the game so well," Clark said. "I've been more open to listening and then putting it to play. Going out there and playing, doing what they said and I can feel myself getting better. So I'd say the biggest thing for me is just playing against these older guys and having older experienced guys being able to help you get better every day."
Clark has developed a strong relationship with Gonzaga transfer Hunter Sallis, who leads the Demon Deacons in scoring early in ACC play.
"Me and him have a lot of talks," Clark said. "Hunt's been through the same situation that I've been through, that I'm going through, here at Wake Forest. He is pretty much telling me to stay the course. He's probably been the biggest supporter since I've been here, just helping me out — being that big brother to me."
After an impressive 23-point victory in the ACC home opener against Virginia Tech, the Demon Deacons will look to continue to make a strong push in league play.
"The focus ahead is to just keep getting better," Clark said. "I mean, coach Forbes preaches every day to get better, and he'll let us know if we won the day or we lost the day. He's pushing us so hard so that we win the day. I feel like we keep getting those wins, keep getting those wins every day at practice and getting better and getting closer as a team.
"When I came here, I was still that high school kid, but then when I got around all these guys who've been doing it for a couple years now, they let me know — you have to love this to do it. You really have to come in here and work hard every day. It's going to be obvious if you're not working hard. You're actually in college now and it's time to get to work and you don't have time to be doing all this and all that, you have to manage your time well."
The Deacs are 5-2 in ACC play so far this season and started 4-1 for the first time since the 2004-05 season. They host Louisville at home tomorrow at Noon.
"It's just a long process, being out here, getting adjusted to classes and stuff," Clark said about his transition. "I went to prep school up at Brewster Academy, so I feel like I was pretty prepared for the workload and all of that. But just the time management, staying engaged, getting in with the coaches, watching film and seeing what you can do better are the things I needed to get used to.
"I have just been learning since I've been out here every day — learning something new and just really getting help from the older guys — Cam, Hunter, Boopie and Damari. They've been looking out, teaching me new things every day, being a partner and stuff like that."
When not on the basketball court at the Shah Basketball Complex, Clark hangs out with his teammates in the Chris Paul Family Men's Basketball Clubhouse.
"I feel like we have a good group of guys here and that we all get along really well," he said. "Half of the time we're always hanging out after practices in the locker room playing pool games. The D.C. trip in October brought us closer together and we're grateful to be able to go on these trips and experience all this stuff together.
"I don't think there's any time throughout the day where somebody's not up there doing something, playing on something or in the hot and cold tubs. You can basically live there. We have sleeping pods, we have everything in there, and then we have the gym right downstairs with all-access to that with the keycard. I think that's a plus and an advantage to us that we have that. There's not a lot of schools across the country that have that, so it's just very fortunate for us. And we're literally all in there all day, most of the time on school days during the week."
While appearing in just two games so far this season, Clark came in and made a big impact in the home victory over Charleston Southern with his energy on defense.
"I think it's pretty obvious for every freshman to get on the court, you have to play defense," Clark said. "I'm taking pride in that this year and just trying to keep on going because everybody, almost everybody, can score in this league. I'm trying to do the other things on the court that stick out and give my team energy.
"The guys all tell me to be ready for my moment, to stay locked in — stay engaged, just be ready. So I'm just taking it day by day, staying in the process. Just because I'm not playing that much doesn't mean there's not a chance I can get in the game — so I have to be ready. There's always that chance that you never know about and you have to be ready for. I feel like I was engaged the whole game and I was ready for my moment."
Picking Wake Forest over scholarship offers from schools like Miami, Georgetown, LSU, Xavier, Maryland and Kansas State; Clark showed he was an elite high school player both at Brewster and on the AAU circuit. He's having to push himself now at Wake Forest as he battles daily against bigger, stronger and more experienced upperclassmen.
"I'd say the biggest difference for me is probably playing against these older guys and experienced guys who know the game so well," Clark said. "I've been more open to listening and then putting it to play. Going out there and playing, doing what they said and I can feel myself getting better. So I'd say the biggest thing for me is just playing against these older guys and having older experienced guys being able to help you get better every day."
Clark has developed a strong relationship with Gonzaga transfer Hunter Sallis, who leads the Demon Deacons in scoring early in ACC play.
"Me and him have a lot of talks," Clark said. "Hunt's been through the same situation that I've been through, that I'm going through, here at Wake Forest. He is pretty much telling me to stay the course. He's probably been the biggest supporter since I've been here, just helping me out — being that big brother to me."
After an impressive 23-point victory in the ACC home opener against Virginia Tech, the Demon Deacons will look to continue to make a strong push in league play.
"The focus ahead is to just keep getting better," Clark said. "I mean, coach Forbes preaches every day to get better, and he'll let us know if we won the day or we lost the day. He's pushing us so hard so that we win the day. I feel like we keep getting those wins, keep getting those wins every day at practice and getting better and getting closer as a team.
"When I came here, I was still that high school kid, but then when I got around all these guys who've been doing it for a couple years now, they let me know — you have to love this to do it. You really have to come in here and work hard every day. It's going to be obvious if you're not working hard. You're actually in college now and it's time to get to work and you don't have time to be doing all this and all that, you have to manage your time well."
The Deacs are 5-2 in ACC play so far this season and started 4-1 for the first time since the 2004-05 season. They host Louisville at home tomorrow at Noon.
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