Rod Clark Officially Announced As Part Of Indiana Basketball Coaching Staff

Rod Clark was most recently on Rick Barnes' staff at Tennessee as he helped the Volunteers become a national power.

Assistant coach Rod Clark yells to the court during an NCAA college basketball game between the Missouri Tigers and the Tennessee Volunteers in Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Saturday Feb. 11, 2023. Missouri defeated Tennessee in the final second of the game, 86-85. | Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana men’s basketball continued its week of officially announcing assistant coaches as Rod Clark became official on Thursday.

Clark has been doing active work for Indiana since April, but the official introduction of coaches often takes place at a later date than when they begin their work.

Clark appeared with the rest of DeVries’ staff at the Hoosiers Connect fundraising event at Huber’s Winery, Orchard and Vineyard on Wednesday.

“Rod is a great young coach that we are excited to have in Bloomington,” DeVries said in a press release. “The programs he has worked with have always been among the nation’s best on the defensive side of the ball. He is a proven recruiter that has produced high-level college basketball players, including multiple conference players of the year and All-Americans.”

Clark has spent the last four seasons on Rick Barnes’ staff at Tennessee. The Volunteers went 109-36 in his four seasons and held a mark of 51-21 in SEC play during his tenure with NCAA Tournament appearances in each season.

Clark helped coach nine total All-SEC honors, two SEC All-Freshman Team selections, five All-SEC Defensive Team plaudits, and the 2023-24 SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Three Vols, highlight by 2024 Consensus All-American Dalton Knecht, have been selected in the first 40 picks of the NBA Draft since 2022.

Clark had previous stops at Austin Peay (2020-21) and Illinois-Chicago (2019-20). Before he entered the college ranks, Clark was the top assistant coach at Sunrise Christian Academy, a national prep basketball powerhouse in Bel Aire, Kan.

Clark also spent time as a coach with the prestigious MoKan Elite program on the Nike EYBL circuit. MoKan Elite posted a 30-7 record in 2018 and reached the semifinals at the Nike Peach Jam. He built on that experience to guide MoKan Elite to the Peach Jam championship in 2019.

As a collegiate player, Clark spent his first two seasons at the junior college level, first at Neosho Community College in Chaunte, Kan., and then Redlands Community College in El Reno, Okla. He concluded his career at Lindsey Wilson College and received a degree in communications in 2015.

Clark and his wife, Alexis, have two daughters – Zara and Zuri.

Clark, Kenny Johnson and Drew Adams have all been officially announced this week. One more assistant, Mike Bargen, has not yet been officially announced, but he was in attendance at Huber’s on Wednesday.

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