WolfPack bench boss Clark calls it quits

Scott Clark is relinquishing his longtime position as head coach of the TRU WolfPack men’s basketball team and hopping into a new role with the U Sports program.

“The demands of the job, as a head coach, are hard to meet at this time,” Clark said on Monday in a TRU Sports Information release. “Just evaluating things moving forward, I don’t have the energies to do the job the way I would like to do the job.”

On March 1, Clark will become the WolfPack’s manager of highperformance sport.

“I have great respect for Scott’s values, his work ethic, his integrity and the selflessness with which he approaches the job,” WolfPack athletics and recreation director Curtis Atkinson said in the release. “He is honest, treats people with respect and cares about the success of those around him. While I am going to miss him as our men’s basketball coach, I am excited to work closely together as he takes on this new role.”

In his new position with the

WolfPack, Clark will be working closely with coaches, performance staff and student-athletes to help eliminate barriers to success and identify new resources to support team performance.

Clark took over head coaching duties for the WolfPack men’s basketball team in time for the 20102011 season, leaving his position as bench boss of the Simon Fraser University men’s hoops squad to join a club that had posted 11 victories in the previous five seasons, dating back to when TRU joined U Sports in 2005-2006.

The Pack steadily improved and earned their first playoff appearance in 2013-2014, the first of seven post-season trips under Clark, who finishes his tenure with a regular-season record of 103-139.

Clark’s teams posted an 8-12 mark in Canada West playoff action.

“For close to three decades, Scott Clark has been a top men’s basketball coach in the country,” Atkinson said. “He leaves a tremendous legacy with what he has accomplished on the court and beyond.”

The 2015-2016 season is the best in program history to date and finished with Clark earning the Canada West Men’s Basketball

Coach of the Year Award.

TRU, which posted a record of 16-4 to claim the Explorer Division title, knocked off the UBC Thunderbirds 72-69 in Canada West semifinal action to snare its first berth in the U Sports Men’s Basketball Championship.

Calgary bested TRU 91-84 in the conference final and the Carleton Ravens of Ottawa knocked off the WolfPack 91-75 in quarter-final action at the U Sports Championship. Carleton went on to claim the national title.

“I’m extremely proud of all the guys that I’ve been able to coach,” said Clark, whose teams featured 36 Academic All-Canadians and 10 Canada West all-stars.

“I have former players that have gone on to be high school teachers, lawyers, surgeons, police officers, firefighters, businessmen, coaches and athletic administrators. It’s satisfying to see that I have a lot of former players that have gone on to great things — and I’m not the reason for the success. But I hope that I can share in part of that.”