City of Basketball Love

Tom Reifsnyder (@tom_reifsnyder)
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Chris Clark was at a crossroads.

Coming off a breakout senior season as team captain under Temple head coach Fran Dunphy in 2007-08, Clark found himself pondering a question that often troubles recently graduated student-athletes: How much longer can I play?

Clark wasn’t sure. He had been working out and talking to a couple friends who were playing overseas in Germany at the time. He didn’t have any offers, but he spoke with a few teams over the phone about coming over for a tryout.

Then, Clark received another phone call.

It was Don Friday, the head coach at Division I Saint Francis University (Pa.). Friday, who coached the Red Flash from 2008-12, spoke to Dunphy and then offered Clark an assistant coaching position.

As much as Clark wanted to give himself a shot at professional basketball, the opportunity to get his feet wet in the coaching world was one Clark said he couldn’t pass up.

“Sometimes, I still regret it a little bit because I should’ve tried to play for a couple years,” Clark said. “But I was fortunate enough, right after I graduated, to get right into coaching as an assistant coach and to be out on the road, learn the business and learn to establish my recruiting connections.

“I’m doing alright for myself and I can’t complain, but sometimes I look back at it like, man, maybe I should have just tried to play a couple years … but it ended up working out for me in the long run.”

Clark’s run took a surprising turn when he accepted an offer to become Temple’s Video Coordinator in early September, reuniting him with his former coach, alma mater and hometown.

Clark, who played under Speedy Morris at Saint Joseph’s Prep, has spent a huge chunk of his life in North Philadelphia, whether he’s been winning back-to-back Catholic League titles on 17th and Girard or helping the Cherry and White win the 2008 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship.

Now, following six years as an assistant coach, four with Saint Francis and two at Campbell University (N.C.), Clark has taken on a new set of responsibilities in his return to North Broad Street.

At first, Clark said he was a bit skittish at the idea of transitioning to a behind-the-scenes role, and rightfully so. You don’t often see a Division I assistant coach take a video coordinator position after multiple years in the business. Clark said he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to accept the offer because, as he noted, from the outside looking in it was a “step backwards.”

However, a reassuring chat with fifth-year assistant coach Dwayne Killings convinced Clark he would be treated as much more than a video coordinator.

“Obviously any time you can come back to the school you played at and the city you grew up in and work for the guy that you played for, it was always a thought in the back of my mind,” Clark said. “But as I was talking to the assistant coaches, Dwayne Killings in particular, he was encouraging me to come back to be able to help out in a lot of different ways.”

And even though he’s not able to go out on the road, Clark can still have an impact on recruiting, which is where many young assistants can make their mark.

Less than a fortnight into his return to Philadelphia, Clark aided the eventual commitment of Maryland-based 2016 point guard Alani Moore, touted as a three-star recruit by ESPN and Yahoo! Sports.

When Moore visited campus, Clark was responsible for giving him a tour of campus and showing him around the team’s facilities. Moore told CoBL the “welcoming of the coaching staff” was a key factor in his decision to commit.

Since his hiring, Clark has been tasked with organizing recruiting schedules for the coaching staff and creating a recruiting database, in addition to his video duties, which he said are the least of his worries.

“The video stuff is easy for me because I’ve been coaching the last six years and I did my own scouts, so I can do that with my eyes closed,” Clark said.

Clark’s ability to coach and interact with players on the floor during games will be restricted by his new title, but he said he’s willing to make that sacrifice in order to further his coaching career.

He cited his strong relationship with Dunphy, who coached him at Temple from 2006-08, as one of the main reasons for his return.

“We talked often when I was a player and he challenged me probably the most my senior year, more than any other guy on the team, so we definitely had a good relationship when I was a player,” Clark said. “And since I’ve graduated, he’s been instrumental in mentoring me and helping me along the way as I’m starting my career as an assistant coach.”

Although the prospect of taking on a new role was troubling at times, Clark’s decision to move back home was a no-brainer for his family.

Clark’s wife, Sharena, who also has family in Philadelphia, agreed with her husband that it made sense to settle down near their relatives with three-year-old son Caysen getting close to starting kindergarten and five-month-old son Chase now in the mix.

Just like the decision he made after graduation to become a coach, the opportunity to rekindle his relationship with the City of Brotherly Love was one Clark couldn’t pass up.

“This city is special,” Clark said. “I went to high school four or five blocks from here so all of my connections and my relationships have been established in Philadelphia and this is where I had my most success, so I definitely wanted to get back here and learn as much as I can from Coach Dunphy as a coach.

“He’s given me a lot of freedom and responsibility, and I’m not treated like just a video coordinator; I’m treated like a coach.”