Reports: Former Illinois Guard Skyy Clark to Visit Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - College basketball's 60-day transfer portal window officially opened up on Monday, and a former Louisville men's basketball target from last offseason is once again expressing interest in the program.

Former Illinois guard Skyy Clark is planning to visit Louisville later this week, according Stockrisers' Jake Weingarten, On3's Joe Tipton and 247Sports' Travis Branham.

Tipton said that proposed visit is for Thursday but "could come sooner," while Branham added that Clark's recruitment "is not expected to take long." Clark announced his intention to enter the portal this past Sunday before officially doing so today.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound point guard cracked Illinois' starting rotation as a true freshman, playing in their first 13 games of the season with 12 starts. During that stretch, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.7 assists and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 33.3 percent on three-point attempts.

Back on Jan. 6, the Los Angeles native announced that he would be stepping away from basketball due to "personal reasons." He would not play another game for the Fighting Illini.

Louisville was in the mix to land the former five-star Class of 2022 prospect last offseason before he wound up in Champaign. Clark was a one-time Kentucky signee before asking for his release from his National Letter of Intent last March. Head coach Kenny Payne immediately reached out, and the Cardinals would later make Clark's top six before he chose the Illini.

Clark was ranked as the No. 33 overall prospect in the class' final 247Sports Composite ranking. The Montverde (Fla.) Academy guard peaked as high as No. 10 in the metric.

Despite a horrid 4-28 season in Payne's first year at the helm, Louisville has made real strides on the recruiting trail since their season ended last Tuesday. Five-star 2023 center Dennis Evans committed to the Cardinals this past Sunday, and UofL is seen as the presumptive leader for 2024 five-star wing Trentyn Flowers, who is set to commit this Friday and could potentially reclassify to 2023.

Landing all three prospects would make up for a trio of portal defections that Louisville has already experienced. This past Friday, all three members of the Cardinals' 2022 recruiting class - Kamari Lands, Devin Ree and Fabio Basili - entered the transfer portal.

In the 2023 class, the Cardinals have signed top-70 wings Kaleb Glenn and Curtis Williams Jr., and have commitments from Evans and JUCO guard Koron Davis. It ranks as the No. 10 recruiting class in the nation, according to Rivals.

(Photo of Skyy Clark: Ron Johnson - USA TODAY Sports)

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