The University of Texas was not in sophomore guard Jayda Clark’s plans.
After graduating high school in Australia, Clark bypassed the college route and went straight into professional basketball, earning a contract in the Women’s National Basketball League. Two years later, an unexpected opportunity brought her halfway across the world to Austin.
When Clark’s agent called about the possibility of playing college basketball in the United States, she hadn’t given the idea much thought at first. But with three years of eligibility remaining, she decided to step through the open door.
“I feel like if I didn’t take the opportunity when it came at hand, then I would have regretted it,” Clark said. “I feel like it was a pretty cool opportunity for me, especially (with) the fact that I was playing pro and going through the ranks back home in Australia.”
Now, Clark’s arrival at the Forty Acres gives Texas a different offensive option as the Longhorns look to maintain their place among the nation’s top programs. With just a handful of returning players, head coach Vic Schaefer is still working to establish the identity of a team that has undergone significant roster turnover.
Clark could be an important piece of that process.
“(Clark is) an offensive player (who) understands and is used to having the demands on her of scoring, but what Jayda brings too is the rebounding piece,” Schaefer said.
During her time as a professional athlete, Clark averaged 6.32 rebounds and 17.79 points per game. With her experience playing against much older, more developed athletes, Schaefer believes the 21-year-old brings a combination of maturity and versatility Texas desperately needs.
“She’s not just a three-point shooter,” Schaefer said. “She can score off the bounce, she’s got a great midrange, (and) she sees the floor well.”
Clark has already seen plenty of minutes on the floor, starting in two of the three Longhorns’ exhibition games. And as a starter, she clocked 26 minutes against Fairleigh Dickinson and 13 minutes against Northern Colorado.
Even though Clark has competitive experiences that other players on Texas’ squad don’t, transitioning into college basketball has still been an adjustment.
“The style of play is extremely different from here to Australian basketball in general,” Clark said. “I’m back here with people my own age, and we’re like run and gun. We can run up the court, we can do all these crazy things, whereas back home, it wasn’t a slower game, but it was more of a smarter, ‘I’m with veterans who know what they’re doing, where to be on the court, know what their role is already.’”
Even with the change in style of play, Clark isn’t concerned with the stat sheet.
“I don’t really care how many points I get, or assists, or threes,” Clark said. “My whole game is based around a complete nonselfish game.”
Schaefer has urged Clark to become more aggressive with the basketball in her hands. While she is comfortable getting her teammates involved in plays, the coaching staff has encouraged her to take advantage of her own scoring opportunities.
Just two games into the season, Clark has averaged 7.5 points per game, going 3-for-6 from behind the arc. Now, Schaefer believes she can become a bigger scoring threat as she gets more comfortable wearing burnt orange.
“I think you’re going to really see her flourish,” Schaefer said. “That’s somebody you better pay attention to, because she can get 20 on you if you’re not careful.”
