Palmetto's Tre Clark makes history in signing with Furman

PALMETTO -- Tre Clark is a history buff who enjoys reading about the accomplishments of people who lived in the past.

The basketball standout might become an historical figure in his own right after signing a letter of intent to play for Furman University on Wednesday.

His signature makes Clark the first person in the Palmetto High boys basketball program to sign with a Division I program directly out of high school in 37 years. The last person to do it was Donnie Mays, who signed with Penn State in 1979. Wilmore Fowler, the program's career scoring leader, signed with Kansas in 1977.

Clark, who finished his high school career with 1,120 points, doesn't want to put the cart before the horse and says things are just getting started.

"I haven't done anything. There is a lot of work ahead for me," the 6-foot-5 guard said. "There is a long journey in front of me, and maybe in 20, 30 or 40 years I can look back at this day. But now I have to improve as a player

and a person."

Palmetto head coach Reggie Bellamy who put Clark on the varsity as a ninth grader, says his prize pupil hasn't even come close to reaching his potential.

"We put Trey at guard as a freshman because we felt he could develop into a Division I prospect and today confirms that," Bellamy said. "He will shine a lot more when he gets into college. His best basketball days are ahead of him because at the college level they can do so many more things to help you with diet and conditioning and things like that."

Tre Clark is a young senior who doesn't turn 18 until August. He also had what might be considered added pressure because his father, Willie Clark, is the Palmetto High principal and high school legend.

The elder Clark was a former standout football player at Notre Dame, who set the state of California prep record for yards per carry averaging 17 per attempt in 1988.

Tre says being the son of the principal and basketball player was tougher on this dad, while his dad says it was harder on his son, which might say a lot about the two.

"A lot of hard work, sweat and tears went into what he accomplished," Willie Clark said. "It was tough with me being the principal, but I am very fortunate. He is a good kid, and I've got a good staff here. It's probably harder on him than me, because for me it's turned out to be an easy process."

This is one point where Tre would disagree with his father.

"I think there was more pressure on him than on me," Tre said. "He did a great job of separating the two (roles). At home he was a father and a great father at that, and at school he was the principal. I am kind of laid-back and low-key, behind-the-scenes kind of person. I am not much of a troublemaker, so there was never a problem."

One of the things Tre Clark had to learn to deal with this season was all the attention he was getting from opposing teams, who often double-teamed him and tried to take the ball out of his hands.

"My dad always told me to have a short memory. I had to do that a lot this year because we were losing, and I had to get grounded," Tre said. "I am hungrier now. I want to play point guard in college because I like to handle the ball and dish it. I like to score also, but as long as the team is scoring and we are winning it's good."

This story was originally published April 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Palmetto's Tre Clark makes history in signing with Furman ."