Brandon Clarke takes alternative route to NBA’s Grizzlies

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Brandon Clarke took the scenic route to NBA Summer League.

“It’s been a really long journey, but a really fun one,” Clarke said a. “I’m 22. Most rookies here are 18, 19. It just shows that my journey was longer. But for it to be longer made it really, really fun.”

Clarke, a versatile 6-foot-8-inch forward is in the NBA by way of San Jose State and Gonzaga, from which he was drafted by Oklahoma City with the the No. 21 pick last month. His rights were traded to the Grizzlies and he couldn’t play until Sunday because of the league’s moratorium on draft day trades, but is averaging 13 points, 6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks through two games — impressing his coaches.

Oh, and his front office, too.

“Brandon is an older guy, he knows how to play, high energy, makes plays,” said NBA wing turned Memphis executive Tayshaun Prince, who played from 2002 to 2016. “He makes game-winning plays. And young guys that are coming into this league, when you want to get minutes right away, you got to be able to affect the game in different ways than just putting the ball in the basket and we feel that he can do that.”

Clarke, born in Vancouver, Canada, and raised in the Phoenix area, was sparsely recruited out of high school before accepting a scholarship to play in the Mountain West Conference at San Jose State, for which he played for two years.

He averaged 8.8 points and 5.6 rebounds as a freshman in 2015-16 and 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds as a sophomore, garnering First-Team All-Mountain West honors, Mountain West All-Defensive Team honors — and prompting a transfer to Gonzaga, where he blossomed into one of the best players in the country.

“I just worked on my shot a lot — on my form a lot. I got stronger, too,” Clarke said. “It just really made basketball easier.”

Clark sat out the 2017-18 season as a redshirt and debut in 2018-19 for the Bulldogs, for whom he averaged 16.9 points on 68.7 shooting, 8.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks en route to the WCC Defensive Player of the Year award.

He also recorded a 36-point, five-block game in the NCAA Tournament to join basketball legends David Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players to tally 35 and five in that setting.

In four short years, the anonymous, unheralded recruit became a surefire first-round draft pick.

“We were high on him from the get go. I watched him a lot throughout the year, but more importantly in the NCAA Tournament.,” Prince said. “Once he started falling, we felt like it was right where we wanted to get him at.”

Clark says he’s rusty at Summer League after three-plus months without playing organized five-on-five. His perimeter shot is still a work in progress, but he’s a heady, energetic defender with the size and athleticism to guard multiple positions.

Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, who is doubling as the club’s Summer League coach, likes what he sees from Clarke so far.

“He’s had a lot thrown at him at a short amount of time,” Jenkins said. “He’s a super humble kid that loves to compete. … He’s been constantly asking the right questions, he’s been absorbing a lot and got thrown in to the fire. He’s picked it up really, really well.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.