The Importance of Pace: A Case Study
How the Elite Pace of Adam "Budd" Clark Overrides His Physical Limitations
Often, during the discussion of players’ strengths, it’s said that a player “plays at their own pace” or has a great change of pace overall. To the average fan pace may just represent going from fast to slow or slow to fast, while in reality, it also indicates many significant underlying traits. Pace signifies control, poise, and high-level basketball IQ. It is the driving force that allows small guards, below-the-rim big men, and other physically limited players to have long careers. When one plays at their own pace it means they’re unbothered by the defense and any wrinkles thrown at them. If a double team is sent the player keeps their handle tight and eyes up instead of panicking and making poor decisions. If a rim protector is lurking the player aims to pull them away from the rim or force them to mistime the block through head and ball fakes. Pace is patience and knowledge of the defense’s instincts that fundamentally sound players can exploit.
To better illustrate these concepts, I will display five clips from Merrimack College’s Adam “Budd” Clark. Budd Clark is one of my favorite mid-major point guards and standing at just 5’10 he makes some mind-bending plays. While he’s not quite a household name just yet, a potential chance to prove himself in March Madness may make high-major coaches blow up his phone this offseason. At an AST% of 41.7% and STL% of 4.6% Clark is elite in multiple other categories, but today’s emphasis will be the pace that shapes his game. This pace has carried Clark to the 99th percentile in attempts at the rim per 40 minutes, an overly impressive mark based on his stature.
Adam “Budd” Clark
5’10 PG | Sophomore | Merrimack College
20.0 PPG - 4.5 RPG - 6.0 APG - 2.8 STOCKS - 50.4 TS%
Clip 1: Marist at Merrimack | 2-16-2025
Here we see Budd working off of a zoom action before using his blazing speed to work his defender laterally all the way to the cup. Upon getting to his spot he decelerates, jump stops, and gives a subtle fake to get his defender in the air. Breaking it down further, Budd shows great patience at the start of the clip. With the zoom action not giving him a step on his defender Clark was forced to look for a counter. This counter is where Budd shows his awareness of his strengths as he uses his speed to outmatch his defender laterally instead of through a straight-line drive that may have exposed his smaller frame. Lastly, he shows an awareness of the defender’s instincts. Clark realized his changing of gears couldn’t be matched by his defender, leading him to decelerate and pump fake, making the defender fly by. The mix of patience, awareness, and changing of gears is a recipe for great pace.
Clip 2: Merrimack at Saint Peter’s | 1-23-2025
In clip two Clark works in isolation before being shut off by his primary defender. He then steps back to switch onto a slower defender in the pick and roll who he exposes by mixing his speed with some hesitation moves. Budd’s awareness of both his strengths and the defender’s instincts are once again on display here. Instead of forcing a drive on a defender that stayed in front of him, Clark regrouped to hunt out a matchup where he would have the upper hand. By gaining the switch onto the big he pulled him away from the rim and made him guard on the perimeter, which is far out of the comfort zone for many college bigs. From there Clark used his tools to get a step and again get his defender in the air by knowing he had the big stuck guessing. As was previously mentioned the awareness is key here, but the basketball IQ is omnipresent too with Budd’s ability to spot opposing personnel that he could outmatch.
Clip 3: Merrimack vs. UTSA | 11-27-2024
Clip 3 shows Clark working his magic in the full court as the opponent shows pressure to try and cut the lead late in the game. All of the tools are at work here with him almost going 1 on 5 in this possession. On the inbounds he shows his vision by keeping his eyes up for open space to escape the instant double team. Realizing it will be too hard to get a pass around the defenders he uses his short stature to his advantage by keeping the ball low and changing directions to keep the defense guessing. In the halfcourt he then slows down and surveys again, spotting an open driving lane as another double comes. He again escapes, choosing to snake around and gaining a switch onto a slower defender as a byproduct. Clark identifies this mismatch and finally gets a 1 on 1 look, instantly blowing by the defender before throwing some wrinkles at the rim protector on the drive. Notice how Clark slows down and head fakes upon touching down in the paint. This simple move gets the rim protector off balance and unsure of what’s next. Budd knows this and gets to the block where he again fakes, gets his defender in the air, and shoots as the rim protector is landing to neutralize his height and shot blocking ability. This clip is Clark’s magnum opus right here. From beginning to end he showcased elite court vision along with an ability to expose different defender’s weaknesses within a split second of seeing them.
Clip 4: Merrimack at Rutgers | 11-20-2024
Clip 4 shows some of Budd’s early season work against power 5 competition. Off the pick and roll Clark gets a step inside the arc and instantly attacks the switch to push the ball to the baseline. Help comes almost instantly, and Budd slows down right under the rim. To the defense this looks like Clark is waving the white flag, but with a subtle glance at his big man he gets Rutgers’ big to look away thinking the ball was going to be dumped down. This small glance had a purpose, and it gave Clark the split second he needed to quickly flip the ball up with his left hand before either defender could even leave their feet. A small play like this shows just how crucial pace is in a small guard’s game. While this scenario would be a surrender point for many others, Clark knows how to be twitchy with his fakes and scoring ability to put defenses in a blender and force them to have high level reflexes.
Clip 5: Vermont at Merrimack | 11-9-2024
Clip 5 sees Clark again working in the pick and roll, however this time he doesn’t gain a switch. Guarded by a defender who’s around 5 inches taller than him, he gets downhill and plants himself right outside the painted area. While many other small guards would retreat in this scenario, Clark decides to post the larger defender up. Budd knows he’s not going to be able to back him down, so he then faces up to see where he can put his speed to use. Upon facing up he changes gears fast, crossing over before scooping a shot up and in. The timing is key here as Clark’s sudden gear change was quick enough to the point that the defender couldn’t even leave his feet. Budd’s pace is what throws off the defender’s instincts for contesting a shot and it allows him to get many good looks at the rim.
Closing Clip and Comments
Clip: Merrimack at Rider | 2-2-2025
Comments
To close this off I wanted to throw in a clip that I think encapsulates the skills of Budd Clark. With just 4 seconds left he splits a double team, bursts downhill, and finishes amongst a myriad of taller defenders. For his entire life Clark has probably been told by coaches, scouts, etc. that he’s too short to succeed at the division 1 level. However, his success story is an illustration of how coveted elite pace should be in today’s game. Pace is the engine of one’s game and it combines the mental and the physical to display what is essentially the “optimal” play style for each player’s archetype. It’s rare to find traits that can nullify physical attributes, making it crucial for young players to watch film on players who have succeeded with their build. It’s true pace will look different for everyone, but this studying will help to shape it, and it could pave the way for longevity in whatever basketball route they choose.