He's not even taken the court yet, but new Brentwood Academy basketball player Skyy Clark is already making himself known to the community. 

After organizing a cleaning of the Metro Courthouse in wake of the recent riot that left damage to the historic building, Clark found a second avenue to help respond to the nation's ongoing protests and conversations on racism and police brutality. 

The new Eagle helped put on a prayer vigil and worship service at Otter Creek Church in Brentwood Wednesday night, with organizers wearing "Heal our Nation" t-shirts to emphasize their message. 

"The whole Black Lives Matter movement, it's not really a thing to say only, oh, our lives matter," Skyy Clark said to the large, mask-wearing crowd gathered in one of Otter Creek's parking lots. "I think the message is...to say, 'I see your color, I see your differences, I see your beauty.'" 

"I feel like everybody is so overwhelmed with debate and discussion," Skyy Clark's mom, Sarah Clark, said at the event. "What we really needed was to take it old school, we just needed God's presence. We just needed prayer.

"What we wanted to do was highlight light, and not focus on all of the darkness that's going on right now." 

Skyy Clark referenced Mark 12:31 as a verse that'd been weighing on him, one Jesus describes in the the passage as the greatest command all Christians must follow. 

"Love your neighbor as yourself," he said, quoting the verse.

Clark, the nation's 18th-best player in the Class of 2022 per 247 Sports, was joined by Houston Rockets player Robert Covington and former Kentucky standout Alex Pothyress, as well as his family, members of Otter Creek Church and others in the community, to help spread a message of unity during one of the most divisive moments for America in years. 

The Memorial Day killing of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis has sparked nationwide protests on issues of systemic racism and police brutality in the United States. 

The moment sees widespread calls for police reform, the removal of Confederate symbols in public spaces and a renewed call for all to grapple with the complexities of systemic racism and white privilege. 

This is all going on amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to alter everyday life. 

"The world is in a crazy, crazy pandemic right now," Covington said. "Everything that we've endured...an iconic legend dying (Kobe Bryant), COVID, these protests, these killings, all this stuff has been detrimental...and we're trying to put this 2020 behind us.

"But, through all of this, it's going to teach us through so much about unity, about coming together, and it's about bringing awareness to stuff that some people have oblivious to for so long...now we're putting the light to all the stuff that was being suppressed for so long.

"Just to see so many of you guys out here...to be in this moment together of healing and prayer...I haven't been a part of something like this before, a community to come together." 

For those gathered at Otter Creek, the moment called for inward reflection to the church as well to address these same issues. 

"A protest can change Washington, healthy conversations can change a community, but prayer inside the household can change a family," Clark said, a line from The Roar Music pastor Anthony Shepherd, who was in attendance to help lead the service. 

Sarah Clark shared how the timing of the event underscores something deeper.

"This world is in fast-forward, and nobody really takes the time to just be present," she said. "Even tonight, to me, is such a divine appointment, because I mean we literally just moved here three weeks ago. We didn't really know anybody. I mean, we're still unpacking.

"For this to happen, literally, last minute, not knowing anybody, that's only something God can do." 

One of the more striking visuals of the evening came when Clark and those on-stage prayed with and for a group of Brentwood police officers in attendance. 

"It means a lot because my whole thing is love, peace and unity," Clark said of praying with and for the members of law enforcement. "We can't have any of that if everybody doesn't unite as one, no matter what job you work, no matter what your profession is." 

The basketball player has been organizing this event for roughly a week, but wasn't expecting such a turnout as what he got. 

"I can't even explain the emotions," Clark said. "I was expecting like 50, 40 people, probably. I wasn't expecting this many people. To see this many people, it's not anybody's thing. It's a God thing, just to bring all these people together." 

Change doesn't happen overnight, and there is a long way to go for America and the church to help heal the wounds of racism and police brutality. 

But, to Clark, it's about taking it one step at a time, watching little things build into something bigger, and the three simple words that define his work: love, peace and unity. 

"Taking what we're learning here...taking it home," he said. "I'm hoping everybody takes this, feels convicted to love, and then, we'll start seeing change very soon."