Shane Clark was projected as a small forward adept at creating his own shot.

Shane Clark, who signed a letter of intent last November to play basketball at the university, was never admitted to the university for academic reasons and will not play for the Terps this season.

Clark, a 6-foot, 7-inch, 195-pound small forward, is described as a talented offensive player with the ability to create his own shot, according to Mark Heimerdinger, his former basketball coach at Cardinal Dougherty High School.

“Shane is an extremely talented player,” Heimerdinger said. “He basically has got the entire package.”

Clark attended Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., last year after spending three seasons at Cardinal Dougherty in his native Philadelphia.

At Hargrave, Clark averaged 18.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season.

Heimerdinger said he was not surprised at all when he found out Clark did not get admitted to Maryland.

“Shane was always teetering on being academically ineligible in the three years [at Cardinal Dougherty],” Heimerdinger said.

Clark would start the season doing the bare minimum his classes. By the end of the year, he would fail a class or two and would take summer school, Heimerdinger said.

The coach told Clark after his junior year he was going to need to step up and be a leader because of the young incoming team. However, Clark made the decision not to return to Cardinal Dougherty so he could play at Hargrave.

Heimerdinger said Clark lacked a killer instinct on the basketball court and his work ethic needed to be improved to play at a major Division I university. Heimerdinger did not know what Clark is doing now.

Clark initially made an oral commitment to play at Villanova, but changed his mind and signed with Maryland after he was impressed with the campus and the atmosphere inside Comcast Center.

Clark could attend Maryland in fall 2006 or go to a junior college for two years before enrolling at a different Division I school.

“Shane is a great young man and we wish him well in the future as a student-athlete,” said coach Gary Williams in a press release.

Contact reporter Michael Gluskin at gluskindbk@gmail.com.