Cam Clark Brings Rain To Drought

Throughout much of last season, Oklahoma Sooner fans saw glimpses of brilliance from 6-6 freshman guard Cameron Clark. However, there is a significant difference in level of play when moving up from high school to the D-1 collegiate level. During his freshman season, Clark would start all 32 games (one of two players to do so) under Jeff Capel and notched a double-double in his first outing with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Yet, he left plenty of room for improvement. From being inconsistent in wanting to attack the rim to shooting 66% from the charity stripe, Cam Clark would need to improve with the loss of Cade Davis who led the team in scoring last season. Here are three keys to Clark's recent success.

1) Cam Clark has slowed his game down significantly

Last season, it was very apparent not only for Cam Clark but for the rest of this Sooners squad that they had entered a panic mode of basketball. The Sooners found themselves digging a hole early and often which the relegated the team to jacking up three-ball after three-ball. For some teams, this method works but more often than not, it comes back to bite you. Looking back, Clark would get a shot off as quickly as possible. Now, he is patient, catching the ball, taking jabs, and looking around. No I do mean surveying only the man infront of him, but he is looking at where the help defense is coming from and anticipating their moves much like a chess player. Thanks to this "new" mentality, Clark has a solid pull-up and is hitting a good number of shots.

2) Clark is a big time athlete

In nearly every game, Cam has had a thunderous dunk sparking not only the team but it also gets him going...need I say more?

3) Clark has stayed aggressive

Throughout the beginning of the season, Clark was in the slumps, unable to get anything to fall. However, he did not let this discourage him and continues to attack the rim time and time again. Clark has come on strong recently and is averaging 16.7 points over the last three games and 14 points over the last five. This is a much needed addition as we the fans were unsure of where the scoring slack would be picked up.