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Clark men’s basketball restocks with new roster, style of play

Diverse roster of newcomers aims to keep Penguins flying

By Micah Rice, Columbian Sports Editor
Published: December 5, 2014, 12:00am
2 Photos
For the first time under coach Alex Kirk, the Clark College men's basketball team will be using more zone defense this season.
For the first time under coach Alex Kirk, the Clark College men's basketball team will be using more zone defense this season. Photo Gallery

Coach Alex Kirk calls it a gift and a curse.

The Clark College men’s basketball team is coming off one of its best seasons, when it finished 27-2.

Because of that success, most of that gifted group has moved on to play at four-year colleges.

And that’s the challenge of a coach at a two-year school — Do your job well and you’ll likely start from scratch next season.

Clark has just one player back from last year’s team, but the cupboard isn’t bare.

The Penguins are 2-1 this season and dominated stretches of their home opener, a 74-61 win over Shoreline on Tuesday.

“Our job as a two-year program is to help feed guys to four-year schools,” Kirk said. “That’s a real nice testament to the program, but now you’ve got your work cut out for you.”

In cobbling together this year’s team, Kirk searched far and wide. Players hail from France, Brazil, Alaska and Atlanta.

Two come from Clark County — William Bratcher (Battle Ground) and Rian Bassett (Columbia River).

It might be a bit much to expect another Collin Spickerman, last year’s Northwest Athletic Conference West division MVP who now plays for Portland State. But that doesn’t mean the Penguins don’t have talent and experience.

Nine sophomores on the roster attended another college last year. One of those is Evan Garrison, a point guard from Tigard, Ore., who attended Point Loma University in San Diego last season.

The sophomore leads Clark in scoring (16.3 points per game) and assists (5.0).

“Point Loma is a great school but it wasn’t the right fit for me,” Garrison said. “When I came back, coach Kirk was the first person to call me. Plus it’s right in my backyard. My parents can watch me play.”

Gathering players from diverse backgrounds presents another dilemma — Should the players conform to the coach’s system? Or should the system mold to fit the players’ skills?

This season, Kirk has already crumpled up a few plans and tossed them at the figurative hoop above the wastebasket.

“We had a plan in mind and it didn’t work,” he said. “After many a sleepless night, we decided to go a different direction with our style of play.”

That includes something unthinkable for the former Washington State player, who was coached by Dick Bennett and his son Tony.

“It was sacrilegious being around those guys to play any sort of zone defense,” Kirk said. “We’re playing some zone now. I cringe even saying that. But it fits our lineup a little bit better because of our length. The league here is small and quick, so asking a 6-foot-10 kid to guard a 6-foot-4 kid is not all that feasible.”

Though the Clark roster has changed drastically, Kirk wants to keep the program’s culture consistent.

That includes enthusiasm and positive energy. Tuesday, some of the loudest cheers in the gym came from the players on Clark’s bench.

“We say every day that we want our culture to be better than our opponent’s,” Kirk said. “We mean attitude, effort and focus. If those three things are right and better than your opponent, you’re going to win a lot.”

Garrison said this year’s team has bonded quickly despite their diverse backgrounds.

“Coach finds guys that are not only good basketball players, but good people,” Garrison said. “We mesh together really well because we have guys that want to see the team succeed.”

Clark men’s basketball schedule

NOVEMBER

22 at Bellevue W, 73-72

25 at Chemeketa L, 91-82

DECEMBER

2 Shoreline W, 74-61

5 Clackamas 7 p.m.

11 Concordia JV 7 p.m.

13 at Mount Hood 5 p.m.

18-20 Clackamas Crossover Tournament

30 Portland CC, 7 p.m.

JANUARY

3 Green River*, 5 p.m.

10 at Lower Columbia*, 7 p.m.

12 Pierce*, 8 p.m.

14 at Tacoma*, 8 p.m.

17 at Grays Harbor*, 3 p.m.

21 Centralia*, 8 p.m.

24 S, Puget Sound* 5 p.m.

28 at Highline*, 8 p.m.

31 at Green River*, 5 p.m.

FEBRUARY

7 Lower Columbia*, 5 p.m.

11 at Pierce*, 8 p.m.

14 Tacoma*, 5 p.m.

18 Gray’s Harbor*, 8 p.m.

21 at Centralia*, 7 p.m.

25 at S. P. Sound*, 8 p.m.

28 Highline*, 5 p.m.

MARCH

7-10 NWAC Tournament, Kennewick

  • denotes NWAC league game

Home games at O’Connell Sports Complex, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way

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