The way the UCLA Bruins were rolling heading into the Pac-12 Tournament, it looked like this year might be their best chance at winning a national championship in March Madness. Misfortune struck though during the conference tournament as junior forward Jaylen Clark was lost for the season with an Achilles injury. Clark has been a crucial part of UCLA's rotation this season especially on the defensive end. While Bruins fans will not see Clark suiting up during March Madness this year, it's now uncertain whether they ever see him again in a UCLA uniform as per Ben Bolch of The Los Angeles Times.
Jaylen Clark said he had surgery on his leg the day after the injury but doesn’t have a timetable for recovery and doesn’t know if he’s coming back to UCLA: “That’s something I’ve got to think about, talk to my people with.”
— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) March 22, 2023
Clark is a junior and so he still has at least one season left of college basketball eligibility. He could have a second year of further eligibility with his COVID year that all NCAA athletes were awarded. Judging by the quote, Clark appears to be weighing his future options and is not close to making a decision. It's hard to envision Clark entering the transfer portal given his success in Mick Cronin's system. So the other option he might be looking at is his NBA chances.
Given his play this season, it's likely that Clark has played his way onto NBA radars although it's unclear how much his injury may affect that. This season Clark has averaged 13.0 points per game 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 steals with shooting splits of 48.1 percent from the field, 32.9 percent from the three-point line and 69.8 percent from the free-throw line.
Jaylen Clark's injury was big hit for Bruins fans and should choose to leave it will be a double-whammy.
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