By David Driver, Special to GoDuquesne.com
Warsaw, Poland - Concluding his college career with Duquesne in 2024, guard Jimmy Clark III had goals like many other NCAA Division I players with an impressive list of accomplishments.
"I was really trying to get a Summer League job or NBA Summer League or even play in the G League," said Clark III, 24, a two-time Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team selection while with the Dukes. "Unfortunately there weren't any opportunities that presented themselves."
Then the 6'3" product of Georgia, who helped Duquesne win the 2024 Atlantic 10 Championship, learned about the chance to play in Israel from agent Mike Miller.
"He just told me it was an option, and I wanted to continue to play," Clark III said of Israel.
Having never been out of the United States, Clark III headed to the Middle East late in the summer of 2024.
"I was very open to it," he said in a phone interview. "I wanted to experience something new and was excited to go."
The excitement may have been more than any first-year pro could ask for, even with the second of the two teams he played for advancing to the championship round.
But off the court, Clark III was caught up in the political tensions in the Middle East and spent parts of several days in bomb shelters. Both of the places where he stayed had bomb shelters in the basement.
"I felt nervous about it, but I had to put it into perspective," Clark III said. "Everyone has something you have to handle, whether it's on the court or off of it. In Israel, you have to worry about bombs. When I was over there, though, I felt safe and taken care of."
BOMBS AND BASKETBALL
Clark III began the season with Bnei Herzliya, a club that plays in the domestic league. The former Duquesne standout then moved to famed Maccabi Tel Aviv, one of the perennially strong teams in Israel. Maccabi, in addition to domestic play, also competes in Euroleague contests, which means normally two games a week instead of the typical weekly game for clubs not in Euroleague competition.
In his first 17 Israeli League games, Clark III averaged 14.5 points, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. He ranked fourth in the league in assists and second in steals, and that was good enough for Maccabi, which signed him to a multi-year contract that will keep Clark III with the club through the end of 2026-27 season.
"Jimmy Clark III is a young player who has already shown good ability on both sides of the court in his first year in Europe," Coach Oded Katash said of the signing in February on euroleaguebasketball.net. "He has a good character that suits us and has a lot of upside, so this is a multi-year signing and it is significant for the club for years to come. He is a player who, in terms of what he brings to the court, can help us meet our goals and will help us in our games."
Clark III helped Maccabi to the championship round in the Israel League against Hapoel Jerusalem. However, with the best of three series tied at a game each, the final and deciding game three was canceled, June 19, due to military activity in the Middle East.
In the opening game of the championship series, June 9, Clark III contributed eight points and two assists in 14 minutes as Maccabi Tel Aviv earned a 91-88 victory. In a game two loss, June 12, Clark III had three assists and two points in 16 minutes off the bench. Teammates with NCAA experience in that game included France's Jaylen Hoard (Wake Forest), Roman Sorkin (Oregon) of Belarus, and Americans Levi Randolph (Alabama), Trevion Williams (Purdue), John DiBartolomeo (Rochester) and Will Rayman of Colgate.
"It was definitely frustrating for me," Clark III said regarding the cancellation of game three. "I didn't feel I had played my best in the game before. It also gave me an appreciation of don't take anything for granted."
Since flights out of the country were hard to come by, Clark III had to travel by land to neighboring Jordan. He was able to get a flight from Amman to the United States.
SUMMER IN PITTSBURGH
Clark III has spent time in Georgia this summer and on July 21 headed to Pittsburgh to check in with former teammates and coaches at Duquesne. Overall in his first professional season in Israel, Clark III scored in double figures on 22 occasions in 33 contests, including a season-high 26 points in an 88-86 victory over Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan while playing for Bnei Herzliya. He also scored 24 points against Hapoel Jerusalem in 26 minutes after joining Maccabi Tel Aviv, finishing 7-for-9 from the field and 4-for-4 at the free-throw line, while adding four assists and a steal.
According to eurobasket.com, other former Dukes who played overseas during the 2024-25 season included Mike Lewis II (Germany), Marcus Weathers (Poland), Tavian Dunn-Martin (Canada), Dae Dae Grant (Spain), Baylee Steele (China), RJ Gunn (Slovakia), Ovie Soko (England), Tre Williams (the Netherlands), Joe Reece (Austria), Josh Steel (England), Dusan Mahorcic (Cyprus), Andrei Savrasov (Russia), Hassan Drame (England), Michael Hughes (Japan), LG Gill (Japan), Tevin Brewer (Finland), and Fousseyni Drame (England).
Last year, Duquesne Athletics announced that the 2023-2024 men's basketball team, former head coach Keith Dambrot, Clark III and Grant joined the
Merle Gilliand Duquesne University Athletics Hall of Fame.
Clark III learned a lot in his first season as a pro.
"One of the biggest challenges I faced was getting used to foul baiting," he said. "They know the game well overseas. That was something I had to get accustomed to."
Another aspect of basketball overseas that is a big adjustment for American players is how traveling is called. A player must be sure to put the ball on the floor before he picks up his pivot foot.
"I felt I did a pretty good job with that," Clark III said. "It is not as an athletic of a game as it is in America. They depend on using your footwork and pivot. It's something I felt I got better at as the season progressed. Overall, I adjusted to a new style, but I need to be more consistent."
That said, as a first-year rookie pro, Clark III took his team to the title round in a country that was at war most of the season. It was an eventful way to begin his pro career.
"It certainly was an interesting first year of pro basketball," Clark III said, who will return to Israel at the end of August to begin preparation for the 2025-26 season. "I learned a lot, though. Not only about basketball, but a different culture. I'm looking forward to continuing my journey."
Note: Virginia native David Driver is the author of "Hoop Dreams in Europe: American Basketball Players Building Careers Overseas," which is available on Amazon and at
daytondavid.com. He lived three years in Hungary with his family, is currently living in Poland and has interviewed American basketball players in more than 15 countries. Driver is the former sports editor of newspapers in Baltimore, Md., and Harrisonburg, Va., and has covered the Atlantic 10 Conference for many years from his home in Maryland, including coverage of Atlantic 10 Media Day in Pittsburgh in 2016.
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