Noah Clowney’s injury-riddled season leaves Nets with more questions than answers

Noah Clowney has suffered through not two, not three, but four sprained ankles in his sophomore campaign.

There won’t be a fifth, as Brooklyn’s young big man has been shut down for the season.

But exactly what kind of season was it? What did the 20-year-old show, and what does he still have to show the Nets?

Clowney re-injured his right ankle in the final minutes of Saturday’s 115-102, come-from-behind win over Washington, a victory that proved Pyrrhic.

After a couple of left ankle sprains cost Clowney significant time earlier this season, he missed another three games in March with an injured left ankle.

Now he’s sidelined again.

And while the Nets, who lost 105-90 to the Timberwolves on Thursday night, are happy with him and don’t fear any chronic issues (think LaMelo Ball), the injuries have robbed Clowney of valuable developmental time for a prospect in desperate need of it.

Clowney was one of the youngest rookies in last year’s class, when Brooklyn took him 21st overall, and he’s still younger than a third of the projected rookies in this June’s draft.

While Clowney’s season averages of 9.1 points and 3.9 rebounds — on 36/33/84 shooting splits — in 46 games are by no means poor, they represent something of a disappointment considering how he got to them.

Granted, that’s because he teased such a high bar with last season’s strong finish, but he didn’t build on that.

Part of what made Clowney so attractive to the Nets and others was his rare combination of potential shooting to go with his length and rim protection.

It would allow him to play better alongside starting center Nic Claxton.

And Clowney averaged a solid .356 from deep through his first 36 games before going down Jan. 27. But after returning, he managed just .250 over his final nine, dealing with wrist and ankle woes.

Still, when Clowney is healthy, the shot is there. Nobody in the organization questions that.

But he clearly needs to learn how better to leverage it, when to attack close outs. And then he needs to finish better at or near the rim.

In short, there are a number of things for him to work on this summer.

“Yeah, it’s not just one thing,” head coach Jordi Fernandez said before the Nets’ 105-90 loss to the Timberwolves on Thursday night. “The minutes and the experience is important because once you go through it, it’s when you get to do it. Noah has shown that he’s improved, not just shooting the ball. We want the percentage to keep getting better, but the amount of shots that he took from three, it’s great to see and see that he’s more than capable of doing it.

“His physicality [is an area of improvement], especially on the defensive end. And then lately, his drive decisions, alright? If he’s not going to shoot it and he’s going to put the ball on the floor, how can he get to the rim with one-two dribbles and be efficient? Whether it’s an easy drive-and-kick or finish at the rim.”

That will improve with age and size.

There is plenty of room for Clowney to fill out.

He’s the 12th-youngest player to log over 1,000 minutes, and his listing of 230 pounds on his lithe 6-foot-9 frame seems very generous. He’ll need to pack on some pounds.

Clowney shot just 35 of 61 in the restricted area this season, 98th of 103 centers listed with attempts on the league website.

And he was an even worse 10 of 44 in the rest of the paint, 103rd out of 105.

“In the last few games, I know the sample size was small, but he’s been working on it, and that’s what he’s going to focus on throughout the summer,” Fernandez said. “And then once he’s on the court and he plays minutes consistently, I have no doubt he’s going to continue to get better.

“So we believe that he’s part of our future, and he’s had a really good season. I know that with the injuries, it’s been a little up and down and injuries that you could not control, but we’re very, very happy with him.”