Men's Basketball

Clark Named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

Posted: Aug 05, 2020

AMERICUS, Ga. -- The Georgia Southwestern State Athletics Department has hired A.J. Clark as the assistant men's basketball coach and Head Men's Cross Country coach.

"I am thrilled we have the opportunity to bring in such a talented young coach like AJ," said Aaron Coombs, Head Men's Basketball coach. "AJ checks all the boxes that I was looking for in an assistant."

The Burlington, N.C., native played collegiately at NCAA Division II Pfeiffer University under current Young Harris College Head Coach Jeremy Currier. As a four year captain, Clark helped lead the Falcons to a regular season Conference Carolinas Championship, NCAA Tournament appearance and a NABC national ranking (#22). As a senior, he was a pivotal part in helping guide the Falcons to become the No. 1 offense in the entire country. The 2016-2017 Falcons led the nation in four statistical categories along with breaking 11 school records and going a perfect 14-0 at home. During his career with the Falcons, he was named 3rd Team All American, 1st Team All-Region, Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, a 3-time All-Conference Carolinas selection and 2017 Pfeiffer Co-Male Athlete of the Year. He is one of three players in school history with at least 1,800 points, 400 assist and 200 made three pointers.

"He's passionate, dedicated, well respected and very familiar with the Division II," Coombs added. "I think when you meet AJ, what stands out about him is his professionalism and maturity; I could not be more excited with his decision to come be a part of our program."

Clark spent last season as the assistant men's basketball coach at Peach Belt Conference foe Young Harris where his duties included recruiting, player development, scouting, academic relations and control over all social media in the program. As Offensive Coordinator of the Mountain Lions, he helped develop All-Conference guard, Brian Harper. Harper ended the 2019-2020 season with 237 assists for an average of 8.5 assists per game (#1 in the country). He also finished 7th in the country in steals (2.39). With Clark's help in player development, Young Harris was able to lead the Peach Belt Conference in scoring (87.5 ppg) and 3-pointers made per game (11.6) as Clark also played a pivotal role in recruiting.

Prior to Young Harris, Clark spent the last two years in Wilmington, N.C. working for Groundwork Player Development alongside current Maine Red Claws Assistant Coach, Tre Whitted. While at Groundwork, Clark held the role as Director of Basketball Operations and was also the founder of Groundwork's travel ball organization. Player development, managing training schedules, facility usage, along with camp and clinic intineraries were among his many duties. He is no stranger to developing players as he has worked with professionals who are currently playing in Australia, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Estonia, and Africa. Two of of his top players also competed in the 2 Million Dollar Basketball Tournament this past summer.

Clark will take duties such as recruiting, scouting, on court player development, film study, social media and academic relations for the men's basketball program as well as the recruiting and coaching duties for the men's cross country program.

Clark graduated from Pfeiffer University with a degree in Sport Management.