Darious Clark Returns Home with a Championship and NBA Dreams

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Former Illinois State/Slippery Rock University standout Darious Clark is all smiles these days. He's returning home with the 2021 Armenian League championship, Finals MVP, Allstar Game MVP and other honors along with dreams to land a spot on an NBA roster.

“I’m very excited about this championship because this was the first year that Vahakni City had a team,” he said. “I was asked to help create a team that could compete for a championship. I helped with player personnel by recruiting good players to join the team. I recruited two of the other four starters who turned out to be pivotal in our success.”

Averaging 24.3 points a game for Vahakni City, Clark led the team to a league best 30-7 won-loss record, before sweeping past the opposition and winning the championship last month.

“Our team was fresh, inexperienced, but ambitious. It was everyone’s first time doing what they did,” he said. “It was our owner’s first time owning a professional basketball team, our General Managers first time managing a professional basketball team and our coach’s first time coaching players with more experience than him. I was there for everyone, helping with anything I could to make things work by giving advice, based off my experiences, to everyone when needed.”

The title was especially meaningful to Clark who showed hints of his talent at Illinois State and Slippery Rock before going to on play for Gregenwald Hostert in Luxembourg where he averaged 32.9 pojnts per game. He then went on to play for Navolato in Mexico, then on to the Armenian A League for Urartu Yerevan then joining Vahakni City last year.

Born in Washington, D.C. raised in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Clark began playing at age 11, first with his neighborhood friends then in community clubs where he learned the basics and soon excelled at the sport by the time he reached high school and later college.

“The first sport I played for fun was football and as I grew up, I played both football and basketball,” he recalled. “I was very good in both and ultimately I chose to be a basketball player because it would be easier on my body.”

And he was right, quickly becoming a top JUCO prospect and going on to Illinois State where he had to battle for playing time in a talent-rich roster. He then transferred to Slippery Rock University where he helped direct the offense and averaged 12.4 points a game before signing with Gregenwald Hostert in 2014, to earn valuable professional experience in 2014. Although signing on with an NBA team evaded him, he found himself in demand in European leagues where his speed and offensive skills were showcased.

“My philosophy is ‘Just play the game.’ I don’t think about stats or this or that,” he said. “I just play to win. Do what you can and let the game come to you. Every time I go into a game with a clear mind, I have the best games of my life. I pride myself on defense which makes me feel dominant which in turn helps my confidence on offense.”

Today, Clark is looking forward to what the future holds after a championship run that saw him average 31 points a game while bringing together a group of young untested players into a winning cohesive unit under his leadership. Next for Clark will be the draft for the Big 3 tournament, which is a 3-on-3 professional basketball league founded by actor/rapper Ice Cube. He will be entering his name into the draft and hoping to land a spot on a team where he’ll be able to showcase his talents and ultimately be able to go on to either the NBA or Euroleague.

For more updates, Clark is on Instagram at @clrkwork.