Farewell to Villanova Wildcats Senior Shane Clark - His Junior Season of 2007-08 -

To the Villanova Wildcats faithful-

Continuing my series of Senior Farewells, here's a look at the junior year of senior Shane Clark...

Also, here are the links to Clark's arrival and freshman year, as well as his sophomore year...

Shane Clark's Junior Season - 2007-08

Clark's junior year saw him start for the first half of the season. However, after starting the first 17 games of the campaign, he came off the bench for the remaining 15 contests. Ironically, he ultimately logged fewer minutes as a junior (713), than he did as a sophomore- he averaged 22.5 minutes/game as a junior. He remained a valuable member of the rotation, nonetheless...

Looking at his season statistics, much of it was similar to his sophomore season.

• He averaged 7.4 points/game, up from 7.1 as a sophomore;
• He averaged 4.3 rebounds/game, up from 4.0 as a sophomore;
• His shooting percentage was 43.9%, up from 43.0% as a sophomore;
• He had 21 steals as a junior, down from 27 as a sophomore;
• He blocked 15 shots as a junior, up from 12 as a sophomore.
  

There was significant change in other respects, though. Clark's three-point attempts plunged from 100 to 56, and it was probably related to a drop in his accuracy from 38.0% to 28.6%. But Clark showed an impressive improvement in two other areas.

First, at the foul line, his accuracy jumped all the way to 84.1%, a remarkable total for a forward, and it represented the second straight year of increased accuracy. (He had shot just 58.6% as a freshman, and had boosted it all the way to 72.2% as a sophomore.)

Second, his assist-to-turnover ratio was considerably better. He had 31 assists against 47 turnovers as a sophomore; as a junior, Clark dealt 35 assists against 34 turnovers.

From the Villanova Wildcats media guide, regarding Clark, game-by-game...

"Posted double-doubles in early season wins over Bucknell and George Mason...
Averaged 13.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game through the season's first nine contests... Scored a career-high 25 points in the season opener against Stony Brook."

Although he no longer started by the time the Wildcats reached the Big East and NCAA tournaments, Clark still scored and rebounded consistently off the bench. Against Syracuse in the first round in Madison Square Garden, Clark narrowly missed a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds.

According to the media guide, during the NCAA tournament, in the first round victory over fifth-seeded Clemson, Clark finished with two points, two steals, and tied for the team lead in rebounds with half a dozen. In the second round against Siena, he had half a dozen points and two rebounds... and in the Sweet 16 loss to Kansas, he had a great showing, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds...

Check back for the latest posts in the series, in which I'll be covering the Villanova tenures of each of the four departing Wildcats - Clark, Dante Cunningham, Frank Tchuisi, and Dwayne Anderson...

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