Kentucky Women's Basketball Hoping for Big Things from Silva
New Kentucky women’s basketball head coach Kenny Brooks rebuilt the UK roster in the offseason. Only two players remain from last season’s team, while there are 11 newcomers on the squad.
As Brooks was building the new-look Cats, he found perhaps the most intriguing player on this year’s roster – 6-7 center Clara Silva.
Silva, a native of Faro, Portugal, was recruited by a number of schools but chose to come to Kentucky and play for Brooks. And she might be the steal of the 2024 recruiting class.
Recruiting analysts have been high on Silva all along. In November 2023, Shane Laflin from ESPN said this about Silva, “If she was a player in the U.S., she’d safely land in the top 10 in the recruiting rankings. She is mobile with a nice touch, smoothly moves without the ball, and has an array of footwork and finishing around the rim.”
In July 2023, Mike Robinson from The Ball Out noted this about her, “Depending on whom you ask, Silva might be the best center prospect in her class.”
Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks knows that Silva has a ton of potential.
“Clara Silva, she had a tremendous summer. She played international basketball, was voted one of the top players in her age group,” Brooks said. “There’s been plenty of websites who said if she was American she probably would have been a top 10 player coming out in a high school class, and then she gets here, she gets here two days before classes start, and she’s having to get acclimated to a whole new life.”
For Silva, there was a period of transition when she got to Lexington. Having lived in Portugal her entire life, there were some adjustments that she needed to make. One of those had to do with a simple part of every day.
“I think people here have dinner so early,” Silva said. “I used to have dinner back at home at 9, 10 and here, I have it at 6 p.m. I think that’s crazy.”
The transition period has been helped by the fact that Silva speaks English quite well. She does admit that she’s still learning, but that being around other English speakers helps, as well as one other non-standard training tool.
“Oh yeah, it helps a lot,” Silva said of being around other English speakers. “I’m trying to watch movies and trying to get better at it. Anything on Netflix.”
Like most freshmen, Silva has found herself longing for home, although she is adjusting well to life in Kentucky.
“Just being away from my family. I’m not really used to it,” Silva said. “But it’s been OK. I’m happy here.”
On the basketball court, Silva continues to develop her game. She knows that practicing against bigger players, like teammate Clara Strack, can be beneficial.
“I think it helps a lot,” Silva said. “We also play against the boys, so I think it helps us a lot getting better physically and it’s going to help us be better when the season starts.”
Silva is ready for the season to get underway. She knows that her game may be surprising to some people.
“I’m so excited. I can’t wait,” Silva said. “I think when I post up, my movement. Maybe my shooting (will surprise people).”
If Silva can be an immediate contributor this season, it could provide the Cats with a boost in the paint. Either way, her ceiling makes her an interesting prospect for Kentucky moving forward.
