The UCLA Bruins will be without guard Jaylen Clark for the rest of the 2022-23 college basketball season due to an Achilles injury. Head Coach Mick Cronin said earlier this week that Clark would miss the 2023 PAC-12 Tournament with a leg injury, but did not provide further details at that time. This could be a serious blow to the program’s hopes of winning not only the 2023 PAC-12 Championship but also the 2023 NCAA Championship. Clark is the team’s best defenders and a key contributor on offense as well for the UCLA Bruins this season.
BREAKING: UCLA’s Jaylen Clark is out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury, source told @Stadium.
Brutal blow to the Bruins hopes of going deep in the NCAA tourney.
Clark is arguably the best defender in the country, also emerged as a solid third scoring option.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 8, 2023
This season as a junior for the UCLA Bruins, Jaylen Clark has averaged 13.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 2.6 steals per game. He has paired those numbers with a field goal percentage of 48.1 percent and a three-point percentage of 32.9 percent. Clark was also named the 2022-23 PAC-12 Defensive Player of the Year and is a finalist for the 2022-23 NCAA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
The UCLA Bruins are the one seed in the 2023 PAC-12 Tournament and are hoping to play their way into a one seed in the 2023 NCAA Tourament. Doing that without Jaylen Clark is going to prove to be difficult, but not impossible. The team is still talented and deep despite losing one of its best players this season.
