Blessed with height and coming from a strong basketball family, Dan Clark has raised quite a few eyebrows with his play at the UMCOR U18 European Championship Men Division B.

The 208-cm forward is leading the competition in scoring (21 ppg) and rebounding (18.4) while helping England to a 1-1 record in the quarter-final round.

Clark, who comes from the London borough of Greenwich, was basically raised with a basketball in his hands. His mother Claire was a member of the national team and his father was a coach.

		Clark has demonstrated great foot-work from the low post.

The upbringing has paid off as Clark has demonstrated an array of skills on both ends of the court here in Romania.

With his back to the basket in the post, Clark has an excellent spin move to the basket and can also hit turn-around jumpers.

He has the ability to hit threes, although he is shooting it at a 25 percent clip thus far in the tournament.

Clark demonstrated his all-around offensive game in the fourth quarter of a tight game against Sweden.

From the low post he hit a pair of turn-around jumpers, buried two three-pointers with hands in his face and made a jump-shot facing the basket. Then, being guarded by Sweden’s athletic 202-cm forward Brice Massamba in the low post, Clark quickly spun and in a split second was between the basket and his defender and in position to score an easy basket.

Clark’s offensive play carried England to a win.

“He can be very tough to guard because he can play both outside and inside which allows us to build our offense around him,” said English coach Tim Lewis.

As a rebounder, Clark has good instincts around the basket. His 18.4 rebounds are six more than the second highest in the competition. He also has the ability to put the ball on the floor.

What makes Clark stand a part from most other players in the competition is his poise.

He is an excellent passer out of the double team when he has the ball in the post and he has a calming presence on an English team that can be very erratic.

When Massamba got in Clark’s face following for what he thought was a hard foul, Clark calmly walked away and avoided any potential altercation.

“He is incredibly relaxed and composed,” said English coach Tim Lewis.

“For a 18 year old kid, he sees the floor very well.”

If there could be any knocks on his game it could be that he is at times too laid back and doesn’t command the ball enough.

Case in point would be the third quarter in the game against Sweden in which England was outscored 25-9.

With his team in disarray, Clark took just three shots.

“He is very team based player,” said Lewis.

“I think it could be a combination of him not wanting the ball enough in those times and our other players not knowing how to get the ball to him.”

Clark, who has been playing in Spain with Estudiantes’ second team for the last three years, sees his strength as his greatest weakness.

“I need to get stronger so I can have more physical size and strength in low post,” he said.

Clark’s free-throw shooting has also been suspect in the competition (60 percent).

For now, England have a player who can dominate at the Division B level.

With a little more strength, aggression and experience, England could have a player they can build around in the future.