Keon’s back: Clark returns after 11 game suspension

Steve Carp

Friday, Jan. 2, 1998 | 10:04 a.m.

The time went by surprisingly quick. And now that the months which turned into weeks which turned into days have now turned into hours, Keon Clark is looking forward to getting his basketball life back.

The 6-foot-11 UNLV center was forced to sit out the first 11 games of his senior season after the NCAA docked him in August for accepting extra benefits from two Florida sports agents last March. He had appealed the ruling in September, but was turned down and had to accept his fate.

He admits it was difficult. But he is standing tall today, smiling and feeling good about coming back to help try to turn the Rebels' season around Sunday when UNLV faces Tulane in front of a national television audience on ESPN2 from New Orleans.

"I don't think it'll be hard to concentrate," Clark said. "I only have 60 percent of my games left and I just want to make the most of it."

Clark, who is already projected as a high lottery pick for the 1998 NBA draft despite having yet to step foot on the court this year, is playing for his future as well as his team's present 6-5 state. But he says it's not that fine a line to walk.

"I know if I play well and the team wins, it'll take care of itself," he said of his standing with the NBA. "I have a lot of expectations of myself and I know people have expectations of me."

UNLV fans are hoping Clark can carry the team on his 220-pound frame and take it to the NCAA Tournament, a place UNLV has not visited since 1991.

Clark is hoping he can parlay a successful season into being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft next June.

By pleasing the fans, Clark may be able to please himself.

"This is my last year," he said. "I want to go to San Antonio and get a ring. That's what this is all about. I'm not going to get another chance to go to college."

Clark could have foregone his senior year after the NCAA came down hard on him and teammate Kevin Simmons, who was handed a 14-game ban and won't be eligible to play until Jan. 17. But he opted to stay in school, serve his punishment and come back a better player.

He picked up the intensity in his workouts. He became more dedicated to practicing hard. He led by example.

"The way I looked at it, practice was my game time," Clark said. "I was on the bench all the time, so there wasn't anything I could do except cheer my teammates on.

"My work ethic has been turned around 360 degrees and it made me better for the simple fact that I realize that I have all this potential, that I have the talent to make it at the next level.

"I never really saw myself in that light, but everyone else did around me. So it was a realization of what I had to do to make myself better."

Coach Bill Bayno said: "Keon's a competitor and a smart kid. He's smart enough to know what he had to do. It showed in the preseason workouts.

"There were a couple of days after the appeal was denied that he got down on himself. But he has really dedicated himself to getting better."

How well or how long Clark plays against Tulane won't be known until he steps on the court.

"It's hard to say how long it will take," he said of rounding into form. "The difference is it's hard to be in game shape when you're not in the game. I'm just trying to do as well as I can until Sunday."

His mere presence of course, will help. It will free up everyone, especially Kaspars Kambala, who has been holding down the fort in the pivot the first 11 games and has seen more than his share of double-teaming.

It should help Tyrone Nesby at the small forward spot as the bigger players will have to contend with Clark and Kambala.

And it will help the UNLV perimeter game. If teams try to collapse on Clark in the post, he'll find open teammates.

Defensively, his teammates will be able to gamble a little more knowing Clark will be defending the basket. He led the WAC with 112 blocked shots last year.

Clark won't put statistical restrictions on himself. His only objective is to play hard and be a leader.

"Respect is such an intricate part of the game," he said. "It's a good feeling to have your teammates' respect, but to get respect, you have to also give it."

Clark said he's not bitter about what happened. Obviously, he wished the incident never took place and he didn't want to talk about it. But through his ordeal, he learned a valuable lesson.

"I learned that basketball is something that can be taken away from you as quickly as it's given to you," he said. "I took it for granted and it was taken away from me.

"It doesn't feel good to be alone."

Come Sunday, Clark will no longer be on the outside looking in. He's a likely starter and he'll go as long as his body and Bayno let him. And after months of waiting, he can go back to doing what he enjoys most.