April 12, 2010
Clark is heading north
With his father having been a longtime coach, Scott Clark can’t remember a time without basketball. Successful at Foothill High -- the most valuable player of the East Bay Athletic league as a senior -- and with the Joe Fuca’s Lakeshow club basketball team and then continuing on the court at Ohlone College the past couple of seasons, Clark will now further his hoops-centric life on a basketball scholarship at a four-year school.
Besides basketball, winning and Clark also go hand-in-hand. Under Coach John Peterson, Ohlone has won five Coast Conference titles since 2003, including Clark’s past two seasons. The Renegades went 11-1 in league this go-around, 24-5 overall. Clark was a First Team Coast North Conference selection after averaging 10.8 points per game. His all-around play earned him interest from a number of schools and he has decided on Humboldt State.
"I really liked the program and what it has accomplished in the last 10 years as well as enjoying the guys on the team," Clark offered. "I selected Humboldt for the same reason I chose Ohlone."
As a recurring theme, the Jacks just finished a successful 22-8 season, culminating Tom Wood’s 29-year coaching career at Humboldt. Nine times in the past ten years, his teams went on to Division 2 post-season play.
Here’s Fuca from Clark’s younger days: "Scott was a true clutch player in high school at Foothill. In his senior year, they were playing San Ramon Valley and he scored the last 22 points of a game to beat San Ramon in a thriller. Scotty was a quality player in AAU during his junior and senior years, a true winner who led his Lakeshow teams to success because he could shoot, defend and rebound from the 2 position. He is known for his clutch free throws at the end of big games. Scotty’s decision to go to Humboldt State is a great fit. It would not surprise me if he was voted all conference before his career is over and join Steve Pratt, his former Foothill teammate, now at Sonoma State, on the all-conference team."
Clark sees his overall knowledge of how to play the game as one of his strengths. That plus his combined ability to shoot, pass, dribble and rebound.
Asked about what positions he expects to play at the next level, the 6-foot-3 Clark said, "The two and the three."
He sees two prominent differences in his play since his senior season at Foothill High: "I’ve gotten a lot better defensively and with my rebounding."
Clark will major in kinesiology.