City of Basketball Love

By Jeff Griffith
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For Adam “Budd” Clark, everything generally comes back to winning. 

The Merrimack sophomore has posted stellar numbers this season, especially during his team’s 9-2 stretch dating back to January 3. So, what’s been working?

“First of all,” he said, “winning.”

He’s gone off in multiple power conference road games, dropping 32 points at Stanford and 22 at Rutgers. Pretty cool, right?

“Yeah, that was a good game for me,” he said, “even though we lost.”

So, what stuck with him after his freshman season — which saw him start all 32 games, en route to NEC Rookie of the Year honors — isn’t surprising at all. It was a loss — March 14 against Wagner, in the NEC championship game, prior to the school’s switch to a new conference in 2024-25. 

“It wasn't a good feeling losing at the end,” he said. “It’s definitely a motivator.”

Simply put, though, wins and losses aside, Clark has been balling out this season. 

He was pretty good last year, too, as evidenced by his conference player of the year honors. He averaged 13.5 points, 3.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds and shot 46 percent from the field while logging just over 30 mpg. 

But this year is on another level. Clark’s numbers this season, pound-for-pound, are some of the best in the MAAC, if not the nation. He’s logging 36.5 mpg, averaging just shy of 20 points (19.7 ppg) while adding 5.8 assists and 4.3 rebounds — all more than 50% improvements from last season’s stats.

“Nothing feels better than winning at the end of the day,” he said. “Losing is not a good feeling. So, me being able to do what I can do and then win games, that's the best part.”

The one area he's still working on is his 3-point shooting. Despite his overall statistical success last season, Clark shot a 14.3% clip (6-of-43) from beyond the arc. This year — with a minor increase in volume — he’s up to 28.0 percent (15-of-50), just enough to keep defenders honest.

“That is something I worked on a lot in the offseason,” Clark said. “I mean, I feel like I'm a great shooter. It was just confidence, to be honest.”

As noted, Clark hasn’t shied away from brand-name opponents, either. His 32 points at Stanford and 22 at Rutgers, as well as 19 at VCU, are all proof of that.

“I just want to always prove myself,” he said. “No matter who we’re playing, I just always want to prove myself. I feel like I'm the best player on the floor every night.”

While helping his team win on the court most noticeably, Clark has been focused as well on playing the role of leader. 

He knew entering this season that he’d be asked to fill a larger role, and luckily had the role models a season ago to prepare him for such a task. 

“Year one, I had a great leader in Jordan Derkack last year,” Clark said. “He just showed me the ropes to it. So, in year two, I'm being more of a leader, being more vocal, and just doing what I do.”

And with that role, it became evident from the get-go that he’d have a green light. He attempted 22 shots in the season opener and hasn’t looked back, averaging 17 attempts per night. 

As for his goals of avenging last season’s heartbreaker, they weren’t looking phenomenal out of the gates, when Merrimack opened the season 1-6. That being said, the Warriors played one of the country’s toughest non-conference schedules; according to KenPom, their non-conference strength of schedule ranks 34th nationally, so their record was more than explicable. 

When it came time for MAAC play, Merrimack was ready, and now holds an 11-2 league record, sitting alone atop the MAAC standings, a game ahead of Quinnipiac. The two have faced once this season, with Quinnipiac earning an 81-76 home win; they’ll meet again March 2 at Merrimack.

“I feel like we’ve been working better as a team,” Clark said. “Beginning of the season, we weren’t making a lot of threes. I feel like now, everybody's confident, everybody's making shots, and it just opens up for me to be able to make plays, get baskets and stuff like that.”

Clark has certainly played his part to this point. He’s averaged 18.4 points, 7.1 assists and 4.5 boards in league play.

And, yes, those numbers are undeniably strong. 

But of course, he just wants to stack wins — one in particular. 

“My main goal is to win a MAAC championship, and make it to March Madness,” he said. “We know what to do when we get there.”