Miles Clark, From Bench, to Division One Basketball Commit

SEATTLE- Miles Clark, a 6’7 190 pound forward out of O’Dea High School has a much different road to division one basketball than most. This being because at the start of junior year, Clark came off the bench. By the end of his junior season, he was starting and a key contributor to one of the top teams in the state. This led to Clark committing to his “dream school” The United States Air Force Academy soon after this season.

Clark has been surrounded by basketball all his life, and with his frame and athletic ability it has come to him easily.

“I got into basketball at a very young age, and it was because of my parents because they both played as well,” Clark said.

Clark began to play on select basketball clubs just before the start of middle school with the Seattle Stars and quickly switched to the well-known Seattle Select Basketball Club. His true love for the game started here as he quickly became one of, if not the best player on the team and would dominate the select circuit.

Clark knew all along he would end up attending O’Dea High School to play under hall of fame coach Jason Kerr as he attended the O’Dea youth basketball camps for all of middle school.

Clark stated, “O’Dea was always my first choice. I got accepted into other schools but ultimately knew O’Dea was the place for me”.

After a successful freshman basketball campaign, Clark would be a key role player as a sophomore on a team that took second in Metro during the "Covid Season". Leading into his junior year, with the expectations of starting, Clark would come off the bench and provide valuable minutes. That is until Clark got hit was a sickness that would hold him out for a short period time and force him to get his rhythm back.

“It was hard to come off the bench after how hard I worked for the season, but ultimately I trusted myself enough to know I would earn my spot back and take advantage of any shot I got,” says Clark.

That he did. After a few impressive performances off the bench, Clark would get his opportunity to start and ran with it. As he became one of the team’s most reliable players with his scoring, rebounding and motor.

Soon after an impressive high school season and dominating select basketball season, Clark would commit to play at the United States Air Force Academy.

Clark stated, “Air Force has a top engineering program academically, and athletically their coaches believe in hard work, and they believe in their players.”

Clark fit the Air Force Academy perfectly. As a 4.0 student and regarded as the hardest working player on the team by his teammates, Clark looks to excel at his new school.

Brendan Murphy, an ex-teammate of Clark's had this to say, “Miles was always the hardest working guy, freshman year he was getting up at 5 to go lift or shoot at the YMCA and when he told me about it, and I was quick to join him. It shows how his mentality had an effect on us as his teammates”.

With the returning talent of Clark, Mason Williams, Miles Goodman and more, and the addition of Highline transfer Amare Jackson, the Fighting Irish look to add to Coach Jason Kerr's impressive ring collection.