Clark beats Pryor when it comes to maturity, class

Daryll Clark is a polite, respectable young man who doesn't lack for confidence but who also seems to understand the importance of humility.

Ask Clark anything about his success this season, and he downplays it, often referring to his teammates more than himself. You will never hear Clark say something like this, a statement Pryor made after Saturday's win over Michigan State:

"People don't know what I can do. They say I'm overrated. Wait and see. The time will come, and you will find out."

Those are the words of a cocky freshman who has always been in the spotlight and can't take it when someone criticizes him. Here's what Pryor had to say a few weeks ago after ESPN's Mark May criticized him:

"People like Mark May, he said, 'let's see how he plays on the big stage.' And we're going to see next week."

Pryor later said:

"The media, ESPN people, sit there and talk stuff on our team and say we're dead. We'll find out this week coming up who's dead. We're out to show the world something, and we're going to."

Why would Pryor say these things? Why doesn't he do what every other athlete does and just say he doesn't pay attention to the media and doesn't care what anyone says about him?

Easy. Pryor loves the attention and can't get enough of it. He played out the recruiting game and milked all the national attention he could get, and now that he's in college, he still has to be the center of attention.

Pryor might go on to be a big star, but he's got a lot of work to do when it comes to maturity and class. He should pay close attention to Clark to learn more about those qualities.