City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2023-24 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 6. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here.)

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With Jordan Dingle attracting all the attention, Clark Slajchert knew there would be opportunities to find his shot.

When playing alongside the nation's second-leading scorer, Slajchert found ways to exploit the opposition when it threw a double team at Dingle and forced them to play four on three in the halfcourt. It worked quite successfully for large portions of last season.

Now, the University of Pennsylvania guard takes on the role of Dingle with no backcourt mate to match the scoring prowess displayed by the 2022-23 Ivy League Player of the Year.

“I look back and feel I could’ve done better, especially with winning an Ivy League championship,” Slajchert said. “A lot of guys look back on it that way. I learned a lot individually, and now I can apply what I learned to this year’s unit, which is a bit different.”

Slajchert is one of two starters back, along with big man Nick Spinoso, from a Quakers team that finished 17-13 overall (9-5 Ivy League) and lost in the league semifinals to Princeton, a team that advanced all the way to the Sweet 16. Dingle took his 23.4 points per game and transferred to play for Rick Pitino at St. John’s. 

Max Martz, an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection a season ago who averaged 10.8 ppg and 4.2 rpg with 42 three-pointers made, announced in August he was medically retired and not returning to the program. Lucas Monroe, the former Abington standout who started 25 out of 30 games last year, is finishing his career at Drexel.

That puts the onus on Slajchert to score at a rate that he hasn’t had to since high school and leaves a hazy outlook on how the supporting cast will be able to provide relief when Ivy League contenders like Yale and Princeton lock down on him as the Quakers’ top threat.

“I have the most experience and I feel I have that responsibility to share and apply what I’ve learned,” Slajchert said. “I want to lead more vocally, which is something I’ve been doing more. I’ve learned that it takes a lot to win and execute in games like we had last year. We know that we have a lot to learn, and that is going to be key in non-conference as a team that doesn’t get it from the jump, but if we continue to learn through the adversity, we can be a really good team.”

Slajchert, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, averaged a career-high 13.6 ppg and 3.0 rpg in 27 games while connecting on 34.5% of his three-point attempts in 2022-23. He knocked down 40 treys and was one of four players on head coach Steven Donahue’s team to make at least 30 shots from behind the arc. 

He scored in double figures in 16 games and his best stretch of the season came in the Cathedral Classic at the Palestra where he broke out for a career-best 33 points in 37 minutes in a win over Colgate then followed that up with 26 points in a victory over Delaware. Even more impressive, he sank nine three-pointers over that two-game span. Two games later, he went for 31 points while playing all 40 minutes against Brown.

As Penn enters the season, Slajchert is the face of a program looking for an identity and the Los Angeles native believes that turning back the clock to the player he used to be can help an inexperienced group.

“My whole basketball career has intuitively been to look at the basket and score,” Slajchert said. “I’ve wanted to score the ball ever since I picked up a basketball. As I’ve gone through the college level, I still think that way and that’s just who I am as a player.”

The host of elite prospects coming out of California in 2020 consisted of the likes of Jalen Green (Houston Rockets), Evan Mobley (Cleveland Cavaliers) an dZiaire Williams (Memphis Grizzlies). While Slajchert didn’t even have a star associated with his name, according to 24/7 Sports, he held offers from Washington State and Cal State Northridge, and he was as prolific as those ranked further ahead who are now donning NBA uniforms every night.

He averaged 31.0 ppg and drained 79 three-pointers as a senior at Oak Park (Cal.). He added 6.8 rpg and 4.5 apg for good measure to showcase his overall skillset but scoring was his calling card. As a junior, he posted 31 points, including the game-winning three-pointer to beat Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London and Moorpark, then as a senior, he set a school record with 56 points in a double-overtime playoff victory over Warren.

He poured in 930 points during his senior season, second all-time in Ventura County history behind Don MacLean, who starred at UCLA before playing nine seasons in the NBA with various teams including 76ers and Miami Heat. His final career point tally was 2,833 and puts him on a list of 2,000-point scorers in the state of California that includes Jason Kidd, Denver Nuggets forward and NBA champion Aaron Gordon, former Arizona forward Stanley Johnson and former Duke guard DeMarcus Nelson.

He enters his senior season at Penn with 635 points and with a strong campaign, he should reach the 1,000-point mark. He has lofty goals and intends to give everything he has in his final year.

“I want to leave it all out there this year,” Slajchert said. “It’s the last time I will put on a Penn uniform. I want to make sure I give my all to the program because that’s what it deserves. The program has given me so much, and I want to apply what I’ve learned to the team.”

Spinoso, the 6-9 junior forward, returns in the middle after averaging 8.8 ppg and 5.6 rpg in 30 games (26 starts). Former Friends’ Central standout Eddie Holland III has shown flashes in his first two seasons with the Quakers and the team is hoping he can put it all together with his 6-6, 210-pound frame. Andrew Laczkowski, a 6-6 forward and the only other senior aside from Slajchert with experience (36 games played), will be tasked with playing extended minutes for the first time in his career. 

Penn does boast a promising freshmen class starting with 6-4 guard Tyler Perkins, who was named Interstate Athletic Conference Player of the Year after averaging 24.8 ppg and 6.9 rpg as a senior at Landon School (Md.). Sam Brown – the son of former 76ers head coach Brett Brown – is a promising player who should see minutes right away following a career at Lower Merion that consisted of the fifth-most points in Aces history (1,325) and two Central League and two District 1-6A titles. Brown set the Aces single-season record for three-pointers made (80) as a senior. There is also 6-9 forward Augie Gerhart, who averaged 15 ppg, 8 rpg and 1 bpg in his final season at The Hill School.

There is talent to work and grow with, but a young roster with little experience and production will follow Slajchert’s example. While he did say, “I’ll graduate this year and use the extra year to play as grad transfer next year,” Slajchert has unfinished business in his run at one last elusive Ivy League title.

He doesn’t have to be Dingle, but he does have to play like that electric Ventura County star he once was to get Penn to where it wants to go.

“I think my biggest message is that the season is full of ups and downs like a roller coaster and if you focus on that roller coaster, it’s taxing on your body,” Slajchert said. There’s going to be parts of the season where you’re not playing as much as you should or not shooting as well. Then there are also parts where you’re doing everything you wanted to do. How you maintain excellence throughout the season is to remain steady.”