Longtime Gamecock basketball assistant to retire
One of South Carolina’s longest-tenured basketball assistants is hanging it up.
Perry Clark, a member of Frank Martin’s staff since his second year with at USC, will retire, the school announced Monday. The former head coach had been a veteran presence as Martin has steadily built up the Gamecocks basketball program, culminating in a run to the Final Four in 2017.
“Physically I am fine; I have never felt in better shape than I’m in right now,” Clark said in a statement released by the program. “Stepping away now gives me an opportunity to do some things in life I have interest in and have wanted to do. My time at South Carolina has been precious and I’ve built some lifetime friendships and relationships I’ll always cherish. I take so much pride in the programs I’ve been a part of during my career, and helping to build them. Our run to the 2017 Final Four was incredible. I say thanks to all of my players, fellow staff members and everyone who has been a part of my career.”
Clark arrived in Columbia in 2013, two seasons after his tenure at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi ended. He replaced Brad Underwood, who had moved on to Stephen F. Austin.
Clark was a trusted lieutenant of Martin and a respected Xs and Os coach.
“After several conversations with Perry, he has decided to retire,” Martin said in a statement. “Perry has been a dear friend for over 25 years, and obviously he has been a huge part of building our program that advanced to a Final Four. I can’t thank PC enough for his commitment and loyalty to all of us at Carolina.”
A former Penn State and Georgia Tech assistant from the Washington, D.C. area, Clark also served as head coach at Tulane, Miami and Corpus Christi.
With the Green Wave, he won four regular season conference titles, one conference tournament title and went to three NCAA tournaments in 11 years, as well as four NIT berths.
That got him the job with the Hurricanes, replacing Leonard Hamilton. In Coral Gables, Clark went 65-54 with one NCAA tourney appearance across four seasons.
He inherited a Corpus Christi team coming off a tournament berth in 2007, but went 54-71 in a four-season run.
His departure creates a vacancy on the staff that Martin will fill in the coming weeks. The remaining assistants heading into Martin’s ninth season are Chuck Martin and Bruce Shingler.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 1:18 PM.
