University of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino told reporters at his weekly press conference that junior Earl Clark would return to the starting lineup when the Cards take on UNLV tomorrow. Clark was replaced by freshman Jared Swopshire in U of L’s last game against UAB and scored 12 points off the bench.

Pitino said that his decision to sit Earl Clark for the start of the game was one of two reasons. One was that he wanted to get Swopshire some valuable playing time so he could develop into a solid contributor for the Cards when Big East conference play starts. The other reason was that Pitino said that Clark had a bad week of practice last week.

Today at his press conference, Pitino said that Clark had gotten the message and has practiced his way back into the starting lineup.  

Clark is Louisville’s second leading scorer (13.4) and rebounder (8.8) and is projected to be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA draft.