Feb. 26, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Opponents tried it all. Man-to-man. Zone. Box-and-one. Bo Clark encountered dozens of defensive techniques during his time at UCF. None of the strategies worked.
Clark, who played for his father, Torchy, starred at UCF from 1975-80. One of the most prolific scorers in NCAA Division II history, he totaled a school-record 2,886 points during his career.
He owns every UCF scoring record. Many of the records that the shooting guard broke belonged to his brother Mike, who played for the Knights from 1969-73, scoring 2,085 points.
A member of the UCF Athletics Hall of Fame, Bo Clark wasted little time putting the ball in the basket. He averaged 24.1 points as a freshman in 1975-76 on a team that also featured 25-point scorer Bennie Shaw. His sophomore year featured more of the same. He attempted 677 field goals and ranked third nationally in scoring (28.8). Clark established a school record with 70 points versus Florida Memorial on Jan. 31, 1977.
In an exhibition game before the 1977-78 season, Clark broke a bone in his foot and was forced to miss the entire campaign. One can only imagine how good the Knights would have been with Clark in the lineup as the team went 26-4 without him and advanced to the D-II semifinals.
Clark had his best year in 1978-79. The junior led the nation in scoring from the start of the season to the end of the year. In 23 games, he averaged 31.6 points. Clark made 315 of his 632 field-goal attempts, shooting 49.8 percent from the floor. The Knights played five Division I teams that season and the games against the well-known programs gave Clark the opportunity to play against the best. He totaled 27 points at UTEP and dropped 31 points against both Columbia and New Mexico.
As a senior, he averaged 26.8 points. Following his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, Clark garnered All-America honors. He also earned All-Sunshine State First Team honors on three occasions.
Because of his scoring ability, Clark garnered national media attention. During his senior year, he even received special praise from his head coach.
"In my mind, Bo is probably the best pure shooter in the country," Torchy Clark said. "He's a Division I ballplayer playing at a Division II school."
The 2008-09 Knights are slated to return to action Saturday at Marshall. The squad's home regular-season finale is set for March 7 at 7 p.m. at the UCF Arena against East Carolina.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
The 2008-09 campaign marks the UCF men's basketball program's 40th season. To commemorate the anniversary, UCF is unveiling the top-40 players in school history. Members of the UCF athletics communications office worked with UCF basketball historian Bill Beekman to select the best players who finished their collegiate careers as Knights. One player from the list will be recognized each Thursday at UCFAthletics.com.