Cougars’ Clark bothered by reduced playing time

PULLMAN – His voice low and quiet, his confidence clearly shaken, Ivory Clark sat down on Monday and discussed the surprising turn of events that has led to him seeing more time on the bench than on the floor in recent games.

“I can say it’s been pretty mentally draining, especially to be a senior and to contribute as much as I have contributed to the team’s success so far,” Clark said. “To be bumped into the back of the rotation, it definitely has bothered me a little.”

The Cougars’ lone senior scholarship player has struggled in the last two weeks, but never was the problem more obvious than against USC, when on senior day he started but played just seven minutes, all before halftime, watching the second half and both overtimes dejectedly from the bench.

“I thought it would be magical and special, but it obviously didn’t turn out that way,” Clark said. “I see more of the future being played out, and (I’m) still the present. That’s just my observation of things. I may be wrong, but it’s just how I feel about it.”

Clark’s mother also detailed the disappointment of the situation on a Spokesman-Review blog comment, saying in a later e-mail that she went and played basketball with her son after the game on Saturday to try and lift his spirits.

Head coach Tony Bennett spoke at length on Monday about Clark and his reduced role, saying that he and the Cougars need a focused senior down the stretch.

“That’s going to be his challenge to finish it,” Bennett said. “I think as a senior he wants us to finish strong, but every guy on this team does – I challenged the team before practice. When you go into tournament play, the Pac-10 tournament and the NCAA tournament, it is just us. It’s our bench and it’s us. It’s not like our last home game. You don’t have all those people. And I want to see everybody pulling for each other.”

But Clark, having seen sophomore center Aron Baynes getting more minutes and playing the best game of his career against USC, said he doesn’t see himself getting his more significant role back. What’s more, Clark said he had expected this situation to unfold once Baynes got healthier.

“I’ve seen it coming all along, so I was prepared for it. I was ready for it, not a big surprise,” he said. “I guess the pieces to the puzzle are pretty much set. … I’m just trying to keep a good attitude and just do what I can when I’m in there.”

Junior Robbie Cowgill indicated that teammates have spoken to Clark about staying positive. It’s clear that Cowgill and other players think it would be nearly impossible to win games without Clark playing at or near his best as the team’s leading shot blocker and one of its best defenders and low-post scorers.

“I think he’s on board. I hope he is,” Cowgill said. “We’re going to try to communicate that the best we can to him because we’re really going to need him to play well.

“I think Ivory did a great job in practice (Monday) and I know the guys are rallying around him.”

But Bennett said he probably won’t play Baynes and Clark together for many minutes in the postseason. And when asked if Clark would be a vital puzzle piece for the Cougars in the postseason, the coach was more cautious than Cowgill.

“If he’s locked in and right, absolutely, yes,” Bennett said. “If he’s locked in and right.”