Terrence Clarke, an NBA Draft hopeful from Dorchester, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 19, according to multiple reports. WKYT in Kentucky was the first to report the horrible news.
Clarke was reportedly involved in a car crash, but initial details were scarce. WKYT reports his University of Kentucky teammate BJ Boston was in a car behind him, as the two were leaving a workout. Boston is reportedly OK.
Clarke, a 6-foot-7 wing, declared for the NBA Draft in March following an injury-plagued freshman season at Kentucky. He averaged 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 rebounds in eight games, missing most of the season due to a leg injury.
Clarke was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. The Boston native played at the Rivers School in Weston before finishing his high school career at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.
Clarke had trained with Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the past. Celtics coach Brad Stevens said after his team’s game Thursday night that he had just heard the Clarke news and didn’t want to talk about the Celtics' game. He said his son was a big fan of Clarke’s.
Kemba Walker, who said he knew Clarke well, also expressed his thoughts after the Celtics' game.
"Very tough news," Walker said. "He's a very good kid, just always smiling, always energetic. And he was about to get his opportunity, too. My condolences to his family. It's a tough time, man. That's really tough news to hear. I don't even know what to say. It's kind of tough, kind of mind-boggling to hear something like that."