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Derrick Clark

Derrick Clark

  • 2014-15 RMAC regular season co-champions
  • 2013-14 NABC South Central Region coach of the year
  • 2013-14 NCAA South Central Region champions
  • 2013-14 RMAC coach of the year
  • 2013-14 RMAC tournament champions
  • 2013-14 RMAC regular season champions
  • 2012-13 Division II Bulletin national coach of the year
  • 2012-13 NABC South Central Region coach of the year
  • 2012-13 NCAA South Central Region champions
  • 2012-13 RMAC coach of the year
  • 2012-13 RMAC tournament champions
  • 2012-13 RMAC regular season champions
  • 2011-12 NCAA Central Region champions
 
Derrick Clark entered his seventh season as head coach of the Roadrunners in 2016-17 with a career record of 156-37 (.808), leading the program to three consecutive RMAC regular season championships, two RMAC tournament championships, and earning two RMAC coach of the year awards. He has contributed to five of the most successful years in school history. Among active NCAA Division II head coaches with five or more seasons, he ranks second in winning percentage behind West Liberty’s Jim Crutchfield (.853).

He finished his seven-year run with a record of 173-50 (.776), with three regional championships, two trips to the national semifinals, and one berth in the national championship game.

In 2014-15, Clark guided the Roadrunners to a 26-6 overall record and 19-3 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, sharing their third consecutive RMAC regular season title with Colorado School of Mines. MSU Denver became just the second team in RMAC history to win three consecutive RMAC regular season championships and the first since 1982. The Roadrunners were ranked in the NCAA Division II top 25 all season and reached as high as No. 3. For the second year in a row, Clark coached the NABC national player of the year as senior Mitch McCarron brought home that hardware following the season. McCarron averaged 20.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

McCarron and fellow senior Nicholas Kay, were both named Capital One first team Academic All-America, just the second set of teammates to both earn first team Academic All-America in the same season in Division II history. However, McCarron and Kay were not the only players taking their studies seriously as Clark's team had a team GPA of 3.36 for the school year.

Clark's 2013-14 team will go down as arguably the best team in school history not to win a national championship. The Roadrunners finished with the best record in NCAA Division II at 32-2 (.941) and became just the third team in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference history to go undefeated in conference play at 22-0. After spending a school-record eight weeks ranked No. 1 in the nation, MSU Denver rolled through the RMAC tournament and the South Central Region tournament, knocking off a pair of top-25 teams on the way to the Elite Eight. The Roadrunners then won 106-87 over Tuskegee (Ala.) in the quarterfinals and were the only team in Division II to score 100 points in a postseason game in 2014. It took a last second shot by eventual national champion Central Missouri to end the Roadrunners' season in the semifinals.

Clark earned his 100th career win on Feb. 15 vs. Regis, reaching that milestone in just 119 games to become the fastest coach in school history to 100 wins.

He coached the consensus national player of the year, senior guard Brandon Jefferson, who broke Metro State's season records for scoring, scoring average, free throws and free throw percentage. Junior guard McCarron joined Jefferson as an All-American. McCarron and junior forward Kay were both named Academic All-America, becoming the first teammates to earn that award in the same season at MSU Denver. McCarron was also the NCAA's Elite 89 Award winner with the top GPA at the Elite Eight.

Prior to the conference season, Metro State was selected to the NIT Season Tip-Off as the Roadrunners became the first Division II team to win more than one game at the Division I tournament. The Roadrunners ended up going 3-1 in exhibition play there, knocking off Fairleigh Dickinson, Elon and Canisius.

In addition to be named RMAC coach of the year, Clark was also the NABC South Central Region coach of the year for the second year in a row.

He capped the 2012-13 season by reaching the national championship game and leading the Roadrunners to RMAC regular season and tournament championships, as well as the South Central Region championship in his third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

He went on to be named Division II Bulletin national coach of the year, NABC South Central Region coach of the year and RMAC coach of the year.

Metro State tied the school record for best winning percentage in a season in 2012-13, going 32-3 (.914). The season started with 22 straight wins, the best start for any team in school history. The first setback came Feb. 22 at No. 17 Fort Lewis, but Clark rallied his squad for a convincing win the following night at Adams State. The Roadrunners swept the RMAC tournament, winning the championship game 61-60 over Fort Lewis to avenge the previous loss. The winning streak reached six games after the regional tournament, hosted by Metro State after earning the No. 1 seed in the South Central Region. It was the first time the Roadrunners hosted a regional tournament since 2005.

Metro State entered the Elite Eight after three straight wins over Texas opponents in the regional tournament, including a 78-70 win over No. 23 St. Mary's in the regional championship. A 78-65 win over Franklin Pierce (N.H.) pitted MSU Denver against top-ranked West Liberty (W.Va.), which entered the Final Four averaging 103 points per game. Clark's team limited WLU to just four points over the first 10 minutes of the game in the 83-76 victory to send Metro State to the championship game for the first time since 2002. The Roadrunners came up one point short in the title game, falling 74-73 to No. 7 Drury (Mo.) after leading nearly the entire game.

Senior Jonathan Morse was named Capital One second team Academic All-America and earned second team All-America honors, while being named RMAC player of the year. He became just the fifth player in RMAC history to reach 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. All five starters earned all-RMAC honors and Morse and junior Brandon Jefferson were both named all-region.

In addition to Morse's success in the classroom in 2012-13, Mitch McCarron was named RMAC academic player of the year and Nicholas Kay was named first team academic all-RMAC. Kay also earned the prestigious Elite 89 award with the top GPA at the NCAA championship event, as well as the RMAC's Summit Award.

In 2011-12, Clark led the Roadrunners to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005, helping them peak during the postseason. The young team posted a 25-7 overall record, including 17-5 in the RMAC. Despite the strong finish, the historic season ran through a rough stretch in late January and early February. Metro opened the season with 12 straight wins, vaulting the Roadrunners to a No. 1-ranking for a school record three straight weeks. After a tough road loss at No. 12 Colorado Mines, they ran off five more wins before a stretch of four losses in five games.

Metro responded with four wins to close out the regular season. After a first-round overtime exit from the RMAC tournament, Clark used the time off before the regional tournament to re-energize his team. The Roadrunners responded with three straight wins at the NCAA tournament. The season culminated with a signature win at then-No. 1-ranked and top-seed Colorado Mines on March 13 to capture the Central Region championship. A two-point loss to Montevallo (Ala.) at the Elite Eight ended the season.

Clark's team was led by just two seniors, including one senior starter in All-America guard Reggie Evans, who led the conference in scoring and averaged 18.6 points during the season. Evans and junior Jonathan Morse earned first team all-RMAC honors. Clark's Roadrunners were a strong defensive team, finishing 23rd in Division II in scoring defense (62.7). Just as important, they rebounded well, finishing 15th in rebounding margin (+6.5) and took care of the ball, ranking fifth in fewest turnovers per game (10.9) and eighth in turnover margin (+4.4).

Metro State was also excellent in the classroom in 2011-12. As a team, the Roadrunners posted a 3.21 grade point average, the highest among men's teams at Metro State. Morse was also named Academic All-America and was the RMAC academic player of the year. Five players were named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (3.5 GPA or higher) during the fall semester and four earned that honor during the spring semester.

The Roadrunners went 22-8 in Clark's first season and advanced past the first round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007.  Metro State also won its first game against a nationally-ranked opponent since 2005, defeating No. 18 University of Mary (N.D.) 78-73 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  Clark's team was led by Evans, who was named Daktronics first team all-region. Two players were also named academic all-RMAC.

Prior to Metro State, Clark was an assistant coach at the University of Colorado for three years.  While at CU, Clark was responsible for off-campus recruiting, scouting opponents, summer camps and day-to-day operations for the Buffaloes. In his final season at Colorado, he helped CU improve from a 9-22 season in 2008-09 to a 15-16 finish in 2009-10. As a result, head coach Jeff Bzdelik was hired as the head coach at Wake Forest.

Clark also spent two successful years with Bzdelik at the Air Force Academy. The Falcons reached the NCAA tournament in 2005-06 and the National Invitational Tournament Final Four the next year, while totaling a record of 50-16 (.758) and 22-10 (.688) in the Mountain West Conference during his two years at Air Force. Both records are bests over a two-year span in school history.

Prior to his time at Air Force, Clark was on Metro State’s coaching staff for eight seasons from 1997 through 2005, including the final five years as a full-time assistant. He oversaw recruiting, development of post players and office administration, while handling travel arrangements, academics and scouting. He helped make Metro State a national powerhouse, serving under the winningest coach in Metro State history, Mike Dunlap. During Clark’s first stint with the Roadrunners, they won national championships in 2000 and 2002, and made three other trips to the Division II Elite Eight. In his eight seasons at Metro State, the team posted a 227-40 (.850) record.

Before beginning his coaching career, Clark played for the Shepparton Gators, a professional team in Australia from 1995-97. He led the Victorian Basketball League in scoring, was the league's Defensive Player of the Year and finished in the top-five in rebounding. Clark was also a member of the VBL all-star team and finished second in the league's MVP voting. While in Shepparton, he organized and ran various after-school basketball clinics.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from California Lutheran University in 1995 in criminal justice, where he played under Dunlap. In his two seasons at Cal Lutheran, he was named first team all-conference and led the Kingsmen to a pair of NCAA Division III Sweet 16 appearances.

A native of Sacramento, Calif., Clark graduated from Foothill High School. He is married to the former Laurie Wilbur and the couple has twins, Isaiah and Alexis.

Clark's Collegiate Head Coaching Record
Year School Overall Conference Postseason/Championships
2010-11 Metro State 22-8 17-5 NCAA tournament
2011-12 Metro State 25-7 17-5 NCAA Central Region champions
2012-13 Metro State 32-3 20-2 RMAC regular season champions
RMAC tournament champions
NCAA South Central Region champions
NCAA runner-up
2013-14 Metro State 32-2 22-0 RMAC regular season champions
RMAC tournament champions
NCAA South Central Region champions
2014-15 Metro State 26-6 19-3 RMAC regular season co-champions
NCAA tournament
2015-16 Metro State 19-11 16-6
2016-17 Metro State 17-13 12-10
7 Years Overall 173-50 123-31 Â