Editor’s Note: Today we begin a new series looking back at UVa’s season and breaking down the ins and outs of each player’s performances through the year as a whole. We’ll break down the numbers, discuss their successes and some issues, and then give a breakdown for what’s ahead.

As expected, Kihei Clark took on a much larger role in 2019-2020 following the departure of guards Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy to the NBA. Clark handled the ball quite a bit more and was asked to contribute at a much higher rate on the offensive end.

As a result, the second-year guard improved his averages in nearly every category from last season to this one. After putting up 4.5 points per game as a freshman, Clark scored 10.8 per contest this season, second-most on the team. He scored 10-plus points in 17 of Virginia’s 30 games, including the first 20-point performance of his career. Clark improved his 3-point shooting as well, going from making 34.1 percent of his tries as a freshman and averaging just under one made 3 per game to making 37.5 percent of his attempts this year, and making 1.2 per contest. Clark was also the team’s most-reliable free-throw shooter, hitting 87.6 percent of his shots from the charity stripe and making a slew of clutch shots from the line late in games.

Despite being the team’s smallest player at 5-foot-9, the California native proved himself to be a capable rebounder in his sophomore season. Clark recorded his first career double-double in the season opener at Syracuse, scoring 10 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. He went on to average 4.2 boards per game, with 125 total, an improvement from his 89-rebound freshman campaign.

Clark also made leaps forward in assists and steals. He wasn’t the team’s top distributor as a freshman but still dished out 2.6 assists per game. In his expanded role this year, Clark averaged 5.9 assists per game, tops on the team. He also led the team in steals per game with 1.2 per contest.

Clark has developed a reputation as a clutch player who can hit big shots down the stretch and he did that a few times in his sophomore season. But no moment was bigger than his last-second step-back 3-pointer in Blacksburg to knock off the Hokies. That play helped the Wahoos hold off a big second-half rally from their in-state rivals, which ran their winning streak to five in a row. Clark would go on to hit a big shot to seal a win in the season finale against Louisville, and assisted on a Tomas Woldetensae game-winner at UNC. But his dagger at Cassell Coliseum was his apex in 2020.

While Clark took on a much larger role for a new-look Cavalier team, the offense did struggle quite a bit throughout the season and, as a result, it sometimes felt like Clark took on too much of the burden.

His turnover numbers skyrocketed from his freshman season to his sophomore campaign, going from a single turnover per contest to 3.5. Clark averaged more than four turnovers per game on the road and was considerably better at JPJ. He turned the ball over four times or more 11 times in league play, including a six-turnover performance in a narrow W over Pitt and a nine-turnover game in a close loss at Florida State.

In Virginia’s seven losses, Clark averaged 4.3 turnovers per game. And considering the slow pace that UVa employs, and the fact that nearly every game came down to the wire, those lost possessions were crucial for the Cavaliers.

The good news is that Virginia’s offense should take a big step forward next season, with reinforcements on the way in the incoming freshman class and impact transfer Sam Hauser becoming eligible. A better offense with more capable scorers should take some of the pressure off of Clark and should lead to fewer forced passes in his junior season.

More than any other player on the roster, Clark’s role on next year’s team is solidified. He will be Virginia’s starting point guard next year and lead a team that has already been tapped to be a leading contender for not only the ACC title but also another national title. Clark will likely take another leap forward from his sophomore to junior season and should be considered an All-ACC caliber performer when this long offseason eventually wraps up and games begin again.

And while he should be expected to improve on a very solid season that saw him named Third Team All-ACC, he probably won’t have as big of a burden on his shoulders. As a sophomore, Clark was the team’s only true point guard on scholarship and was the primary ball handler on nearly every Virginia possession. In 2020-2021, UVa’s lineup will likely feature more shooters and capable scorers, so it wouldn’t be a big surprise to see Clark’s scoring numbers stay about where they were this year or potentially even drop back down a bit.

Still, it’s fair to expect that Clark will run the offense and lead the team in assists, perhaps even building on his big improvement in that area that he showed as a sophomore. He should also be able to get more rest and help in the backcourt, which in turn should help with his turnover numbers. Clark played more than any other player this year, and stayed on the court for 40 minutes or more in six of Virginia’s games. He had just one ACC game and two games all season (Miami and JMU) where he played less than 30. With incoming freshman point guard Reece Beekman joining the program, Clark should be spelled a bit more and hopefully Beekman can learn on the job while Clark still plays the majority of the minutes at the point.

Clark was arguably Virginia’s most-important and most-improved player this season. Next year he figures to again be one of the team’s leaders and will captain what should be another very competitive squad with serious postseason aspirations.