He played two seasons for the San Jose State Spartans. As a freshman he was named Mountain West Six Man of the Year by the league's head coaches after putting up 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference play. As a sophomore, he averaged 17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.3 assists on route to being named All-Mountain West First Team and Mountain West All-Defensive Team. After the season he decided to transfer to Gonzaga, where he redshirted the 2017-18 season. In his junior season at Gonzaga, Clarke continued onward with his improvements to be named the West Coast Conference's Newcomer of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and be named a member of the All-WCC First Team. Clarke was the first player in WCC history to win both their Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors in the same season. He was also named to the All-American Third Team by the Sporting News. On March 23, 2019, Clarke recorded a career-high 36 points alongside 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 assists in a 83–71 win over #9 seeded Baylor. He became the third player in NCAA Tournament history to record a game of 35+ points alongside 5 blocks, joining Shaquille O'Neal and David Robinson as the only players to do so. Clarke also broke a team record in points scored in an NCAA Tournament game, breaking a record previously set by Adam Morrison.
Professional career
Memphis Grizzlies (2019–present)
Clarke was selected in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft with the 21st overall pick. On July 7, 2019, the Memphis Grizzlies announced that they had officially acquired the right to Clarke from the Oklahoma City Thunder for draft right to Darius Bazley and a future second round draft pick and signed Clarke to a two-year contract worth $5,081,760. With four double-doubles, he was named the most valuable player of the 2019 NBA Summer League. He had 15 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks in the championship game to lead Memphis to the league championship, and earned game MVP honors as well, becoming the first player in Summer League history to win both honors. On October 23, 2019, Clarke made his debut in NBA, coming off from bench in a 101–120 loss to the Miami Heat with eight points, seven rebounds, an assist and a block. He had 27 points on 13-of-19 shooting and seven rebounds in a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on December 19. On February 25, 2020, it was announced that Clarke will be sidelined because of a right quadricep injury.
