Douglass' Stephen Clark named state Gatorade Player of the Year

BY RYAN ABER
raber@opubco.com

Douglass’ Stephen Clark’s game morphed this season when he was asked to take on more of the scoring load instead of distributing the ball as much.
Clark’s game flourished, helping the Trojans to a third consecutive Class 4A title.
Thursday, Clark was honored with the Gatorade Oklahoma Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
The 5-foot-10 junior guard averaged 29 points 13 assists and five rebounds per game.
He scored 40 points in Douglass’ championship-game win over Anadarko.
Clark is now a finalist for the Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, which will be announced later this month.
The award also takes into consideration off-the-court activities. Clark mas maintained a 3.88 GPA and has volunteered for multiple groups as well.
Clark is the first junior to win the award in Oklahoma since Putnam City’s Xavier Henry did in the 2007-08 season. Henry followed it up with a second award as a senior.
Other recent state award winner include Bridge Creek’s Ryan Spangler, Putnam West’s Tyler Neal and Oklahoma Christian School’s Blake Griffin.