Why Zach Clemence chose to redshirt at Kansas instead of starting at UC Santa Barbara

Zach Clemence couldn’t shake the feeling from his mind.

He wasn’t sure he had made the right decision in transferring from Kansas to UC Santa Barbara. His mother, Dusti Clemence, told The Star it was all her son could think about ever since Clemence made his transfer decision public in May.

Clemence averaged 1.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 5.9 minutes per game in the 2022-23 season while battling injuries just to get on the floor. He missed three games early in the season because of concussion-like symptoms and had a knee injury midway through the Big 12 season.

After battling (now former) KU bigs Ernest Udeh and Zuby Ejiofor for the backup center spot all season, Clemence found himself out of the competition after the injury.

He didn’t see a path for rotation minutes, with starter KJ Adams, Udeh, and Ejiofor all battling for two spots (as of May ... Udeh and Ejiofor have since transfered away). It’s why he entered the transfer portal.

“He just wanted to play,” Dusti told The Star on Wednesday. “He just wanted to play the maximum time. It had nothing to do with the program; it just had to do with his time on the court. He wanted to be on the floor and contribute to winning, not just in practice — but he also wanted to be in the games, too.”

After his transfer decision, Clemence spent four to five hours daily at a gym in his hometown of San Antonio — playing against overseas pros.

Playing against the pros caused Clemence to think about his dreams of playing in the NBA.

If he wanted to play in the NBA or even overseas, he felt getting ready by playing against the competition of the Big 12 was the best way to do that, even if it meant redshirting and not having guaranteed minutes after his redshirt season.

The competition level of the Big 12 is why Clemence decided to return to KU.

“He just thought about the level of competition. ... He thought maybe he would want to stay in the Big 12 and that he’s fit for it,” Dusti said. “It all came down to, ‘Hey, if I can work this hard in the offseason, I can go back and work this hard just as much (at KU).’”

One afternoon, Clemence sat down with his mother in their San Antonio home to discuss the decision to return and redshirt at KU.

“He thought (about how) he never got to redshirt; he never got the extra year of eligibility like a lot of guys have that are in the basketball world,” Dusti said. “He thought having an extra year of eligibility by redshirting and then he wouldn’t lose his transfer portal status.

“He could come back to Kansas, work out, get stronger, get better (and) work on his defense. He already knows the system. He knows everyone.”

Still, Dusti said her son isn’t looking to transfer from KU after his redshirt season, at least as of right now. But it’s an option if he wants to after seeing how things shake out.

Likewise, the decision to return wasn’t exactly easy for Clemence. According to Dusti, Zach was a likely starter at UCSB and would’ve replaced forward Miles Norris, who departed for the NBA Draft.

“Zach wants to play (at the) four,” Dusti said. “He was going off to Santa Barbara because they were going to give him his 30 minutes like Miles Norris.”

Once Clemence decided he didn’t want to join UCSB, he had a difficult conversation with coach Joe Pasternack.

“It was hard to tell Coach because he was planning and working on his whole entire season around Zach,” Dusti said. “Because that’s (in the frontcourt), where a lot of points were going to be made and (have) been in the past.”

Dusti continued: “Joe is a very energetic, outgoing young coach who wanted to win on the West Coast. He wanted to put Zach in that position to win and in a position where Zach could be at the next level in either one year or two years. He believes Zach can do that.”

Despite how difficult the conversation with Pasternack was for Clemence, he didn’t want to have any regrets about leaving KU.

“He could be stronger, bigger and more knowledgeable with the game and come back with the best team in the country,” Dusti said. “He can have a major impact when he hits that floor. He thought, ’I’ve got to go back,’ because if he ever had that opportunity, he never wanted to look back and say, ‘I should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.’”

Finally, Clemence spoke to Kansas coach Bill Self last week. The more they talked, the more it felt like he was at ease.

“(Self) is extremely happy that he returned because Zach knows the system and he can help some of the younger guys,” Dusti said. “We’re very happy. The coaching staff is extremely happy. But, at the end of the day, Zach needs to be happy.”

At the end of next season, Clemence will sit down with Self to discuss the next steps for his basketball career.

Coming into KU, the four-star recruit was rated as the No. 50-overall recruit in the class of 2021, according to the 247Sports Composite. Expectations around Clemence were high, but he has struggled to find a rotation role in Self’s system thus far due to injuries and overall fit.

“He’s got to have the right mindset — that he can go anywhere at any college at any time and (make) a huge impact this year,” Dusti said.

Clemence believes that by redshirting next season with the Jayhawks, he’ll be ready for whatever comes next.

“He thought, ‘You know what, I can do this,’” Dusti said. “‘I’m going to redshirt, get stronger, get better and learn to critique my shot. ... It was hard not being an impact player this year, but sometimes you’ve got to set the pride aside.’”

As for what comes next...

“At the end of the day, he says, ‘I work my (behind) off and I can come back and work just as hard (without) any loss,’” Dusti said, “’then make another decision (about) where I am going to be and where I stand next year.’

“He’s like, ‘I’m a great player. ... I’m not KU’s No. 1 recruit (in the class of 2021) for no reason. I’m here. I can make an impact.’”