Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2012)
P R IN T: Sports Wednesday,Nov.21,2012 Standards set high by Cougar basketball coach Taylor Oster The Clackamas Print Respected head coach o f the m en’s basketball team ait Clackamas Community College, CUf W egner had it all planned out, or s o it seemed. W egner grew.'up in Oakridge, Ore., a small town southeast o f Eugene. He studied mostly humanities, British and American literature, education, speech', and philoso phy at Western Oregon University (also studying. some at Portland State and Linfield) where he played competitively on die bas ketball team as guard and as a member o f the baseball team. Wegner grew up with a love for all sports, naturally having a c@m- petitive and hard-driven personal ity. Thinking he had his future planned out, he graduated from college intending to go to law school and pursue a legal career, Helping people is in W egner’s nature and becoming a lawyer would-have given him die chance to do that; ‘T wanted to fight for people’s rights, ensuring them fair treat ment and justice,” said Wegner. After W egner chose to teach and coach basketball for a year, he realized that making a difference in young people’s lives is- how he wanted to live in the coming years. ’ H e taught 32 years o f high school English, humanities and Am erican literature. He -""also coached 17 years at the high school level, including a stint at Oregon City High School. "In 1988 and 1989, his teams achieved the No. 1 ranking in state, won back to back Three i R iv e rs' League championships, and captured third at the 4A state tournament. Overall, W egner has 36 years o f coaching experience and an extensive list o f accom plishments? Wegner has a career collegiate ■ record o f 334 wins and 110 losses, with a winning percentage o f 75 percent. Wegner has been hon ored b y peers as Southern Division Coach o f the Year in 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009 and 2011 and as NW AACC Coach o f the Year in 2007, 2009 and 2010. W egner makes a difference in the lives of. his athletes and power fully encourages them to be the best student athletes they can be. He doesn’t just stop at building the athletes’ talent but also supports them in their educational studies. The team maintains an overall exceptional GPA. - W egner’s frue passion for bas ketball came in March 1964 when he watched John W ooden and UCLA win the national champi onship. He was “mesmerized” by the w ay they played basketball with passion, precision and unity. W egner “fell in love with basket ball” during that game. It cement ed college basketball as his all- time favorite sport. Currently W egner is in his 14th- season at Clackamas Community College; he and his team have started o ff the year with a record o f 1-1. W egner is a m an with a posi tive attitude and the desire to make a difference in the world, starting with the lives o f student athletes. He strives to show up every day and d o th eb e st job he can and five years from now he hopes to have five more championships. Clif Wegner Fun Fac ts: FavoriteNBA teams: Portland. Miami, Oklahoma City, the L i Clip pers and L.A. Lak- erv. Hobbies: listen to music; watch old movies, live theatre, work out, read, spending time with his wife Ruth and his dog Henry Above: Men’s basketball head coach C lif Wegner is entering his 14th season at Clackamas Community College. Wegner has won more than 75 percent o f his games on hisway to three NWAACC championships. Below: Clackamas’ Jordan Barber hits a pretty step back jumper in the Cougars 69-65 loss against Bellevue on Sunday at Randall Gym. SophomorewingBrock Lutes (No. IS) gets ready to dish the ball as the Bellevue defense clamps down on his drive. Sophomore post Jordan Barber (No. 22) was the beneficiary o f a nice pass on his roti to the hoop.' the game with two free throws for the final margin. Bellevue head coach Jeremy Eggers loves play ing tough opponents early in the season. “If w e’re going to get better, we got to play better players,” said Eggers. “That’s why I wanted to play this game, to seew here jye were at. .Did I think this wodld.be the outcome? No.” Bellevue played most o f the game with atallestplayer o f 6-foot- 3, but it didn’t matter in the end. “It’s not the size, it’s how hard you play,” , said Eggers. “Size doesn’t matter to me. I know the saying is you can’t coach height, but you also can’t coach heart, and we have a lot o f heart.” The teams went back and forth during an entertaining first half, before settling for a 35-35 tie at the break. Bellevue built a 10-point lead with seven minutes re m a in in g , Andrew Millbrooke Sports Editor Clackamas Community College men’s basketball team couldn’t hold on to a late lead against Bellevue, as the Bulldogs stole a 69-65 vic- tory on Sunday at Randall gym. Bulldogs .freshman guard Andrew Holloway drove inside and hit a tough, off-balance shot to give Bellevue a65-63 lead with a little over one minute remaining, then stole the ball on the Cougars next possession, putting Clackamas in a huge hole. The Bulldogs missed two o f four foul shots down the stretch, but Clackamas was denied a tying or winning basket in the final minute o f this early season matchup o f two o f the NWAACC’s top teams. Bellevue’s Reggie Clinton closed but Clackanjas erased it with a 13-3 run’ o f its own to' even the score, leading to the exciting finish. Bellevue coach Eggers was impressed with what he saw out o f Clackamas. “You didn’t see them slap a beat, regardless o f who came in the game,” said Eggers. “That, bodes well for them in league play.” | Six-foot-two guard Andrew Squires led Bellevue with a game- high 26 points and a team-high nine rebounds, making 10 o f 13 foul shots; Exciting and athletic 6-foot-2 freshman Daniel Greer was all over the court on both ends, f in is h in g with 15 points and 6 rebounds for the Bulldogs. Clackamas was led by fresh man Michone Hopkins 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Brock Lutes added 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds and Sophomore Kirby Hawkins added 15 points and four rebounds. ...GetÄM-P/M www.ALA-PiM.COM ■'...w . tt r- < g « f CO 3 « CD WEDNESDAY WH • NBA: Portland at Phoenix, 6 p m , CSN and KEX • H ockey: Vancouver at Portland, 7 p,m. Rose Garden THURSDAY11/22 FHMY-1V21 • N FL Fo o tb all: • Houston at Détroit, 9:30 a.m on CBS I « Washington at Dallas, 1:15 p.m. • New England at NY Jets, 5:20 p.m. • CCC W om en’s B ask etb all: ' Thanksgiving Invitational, 1 p.m. • CCC M en’s B ask etb all: Skagit Valley Cold Turkey Tournament, at Mt Vernon, Wash. S p :.m. J -fT f SATURDAY11/24 SUNDAY 11/25 MONDAY-lf/26 TUESDAY-11/27 • C ivil W ar Football: Oregon ' at Oregon State ■ Noon, on the Pac-12 Network • NBA: Portland at Brooklyn, Noon on CSN and KEX • R an dall Fitn e ss C e n te r: 8:30-10 a.m. and 1-6 pm . • R andall Fitn e ss C e n te r: Noon-8 p.m. • H oo key: Portland at Seattle, 7 pan. ! • NFL: Seattle at - Miami, 10 a.m. on Fox • NFL: Carolina at Philadelphia " 8 5:30 pm . ' IL ■w J
