- Perry Clark
College coach infobox
Name = Perry Clark
Sport =Basketball
|ImageWidth =
Caption =
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1951|12|4
Birthplace =Washington, D.C. , U.S.
DateOfDeath =
Deathplace =
College = Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
Title = Head coach
Awards =Henry Iba Award (1992)
Metro Coach of the Year (1991, 1992)
Championships = Metro Regular Season Championship (1992)
CurrentRecord = 3-0 (1.000)
OverallRecord = 250-199 (.557)
Player = *
Years = 1967-1971
1971–1974
Team = DeMatha Catholic HS
Gettysburg
Position = Guard
Coach = *
CoachYears = 1975–1978
1978–1982
1982–1988
1989–2000
2000–2004
2007–present
CoachTeams = DeMatha Catholic HS (asst.)
Penn State (asst.)
Georgia Tech (asst.)
Tulane
Miami (FL)
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
CollegeHOFID =
BBallHOF =Perry Clark is the head men's basketball coach at
Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi . He previously held the same position atTulane University and theUniversity of Miami .Tulane
Clark was hired at Tulane on July 16, 1988 and immediately set forth on rebuilding a program that had been dismantled following NCAA sanctions. When he arrived on campus he had no office, no staff and no equipment.
That first season in 1989-90, Clark guided a team that consisted predominantly of walk-ons to a 4-24 record. The team did show improvement throughout the season however. After losing three of its first four games by 20, 27 and 30 points, the Green Wave became competitive by the end of the season dropping 13 games by 11 points or less.
Clark’s second season would be much different. Tulane went 15-13 earning Clark 1990-91 Metro Conference Coach of the Year honors.
In 1991-92, Tulane turned the corner. Tulane opened the season with 13 straight victories, including an 87-83 overtime win over Louisville at Freedom Hall, which catapulted the Green Wave into the national rankings (No. 23) for the first time in 40 years.
Tulane would remain ranked for 11 consecutive weeks en route to a 22-9 record, its first Metro Conference title, a trip to the NCAA Tournament and a first round win over St. John’s.
The Green Wave opened the 1992-93 campaign ranked among nations top-20 teams but a season ending injury to leading scorer Kim Lewis in November seemed to put an end to the team’s high expectations.
That season Clark guided his team to another 22-9 record, another NCAA Tournament appearance and another NCAA first round victory.
Clark and his staff followed up the next season signing one of the nation’s top recruiting classes. In 1993-94, despite half the team’s scoring and rebounding production coming from freshmen, Clark and the Green Wave were in post-season play again, reaching the second round of the NIT.
In 1994-1995, Tulane was back in the NCAA Tournament, winning another first round game and posting the second-most victories in school history (23). The next season, the Wave made its deepest run ever in post-season, reaching the NIT Final Four and finishing 22-10. The post-season and 20-win streaks continued in 1996-97.
The six consecutive post-season appearances are the most in any sport in Tulane history.
Then, there is the story of “The Posse.” It started in the 1990-91 season, and when Tulane exploded on the national scene in 1992, it became one of the hottest items in college basketball.
To describe briefly, Clark would send in mass substitutions about five minutes into the game. “The Posse” would then increase the tempo of the game, usually to its advantage. Part of Clark’s hometown of Washington, D.C., inspired the moniker.
“I’m a Redskins fan, and their wide receivers are called-The Posse,” he said. “It (nicknaming the bench) just kind of happened one day.”
Clark’s Tulane teams became known for their fast-paced, energetic, all-out style, particularly “The Posse,” which helped Tulane force more than 20 turnovers a game for a span of four straight seasons.
“Perry’s juice and motivation comes from his competitive nature and sense of pride in what he does,” said McNeese State head coach Ron Everhart, an assistant to Clark from 1988-94. “The most amazing part about Perry to me is that his competitive nature comes over into almost every aspect of coaching, teaching and helping the young men on the team. He takes pride not just in coaching basketball but in helping young men prepare themselves for life situations.”
Those ideals came to Clark at an early age from his family.
“My grandparents raised daughters to become a federal judge and a head of the Democratic Committee in Washington, DC,” says Clark. “They taught me pride, they taught me respect. They taught me that a person can achieve no matter what the obstacles.”
Georgia Tech & Penn State
Clark has had the chance to learn the coaching game from some of the best in the business. Most recently, he spent six years at Georgia Tech (1982-88) under Bobby Cremins, the last two as associate head coach.
While at Georgia Tech the Yellow Jackets registered a 123-64 (.658) record, had three 20-win seasons, made five post-season appearances, including four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, and were ACC Champions in 1984-85. Georgia Tech twice reached the NCAA Final 8 in 1985 and 1986.
Prior to coming South, Clark was an assistant to Dick Harter at Penn State for four years, and before that, he assisted legendary prep coach Morgan Wootten at DeMatha Catholic High School for three seasons.
During Clark’s tenure at Penn State the Nittany Lions went 62-50 (.554), recorded three consecutive winning seasons and advanced to the NIT in 1980. During his three seasons under Morgan Wootten, DeMatha Catholic posted a 107-8 (.930) record.
Clark credits Cremins and Wootten for helping prepare him to deal with the potential distractions of being a college head coach.
“I think I’ve had the chance to be around great teachers like Bobby Cremins and Morgan Wootten, two people - especially Bobby - who stayed focused. Bobby is great at focusing on the task at hand.
“Morgan’s organization helped me understand to organize and prioritize, and that’s helped me avoid distractions. The biggest thing is not taking myself too seriously. The most important thing is the players and team. As long as that’s the No. 1 priority, I don’t get too wrapped up in the other stuff.”
Personal life
Clark was born December 4, 1951 in Washington, D.C. He attended DeMatha Catholic High School and went on to Gettysburg (PA) College, where he graduated in 1974 with a degree in communications. He started at guard each of his three seasons and had career averages of 11.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. Clark has two daughters, Nicole (21) and Pamela (17).
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