Vols Assistant Rod Clark Discusses Opportunity to Coach At Tennessee

Newly hired assistant coach Rod Clark joins the Tennessee Volunteers in just his third season as a collegiate assistant, having previously worked with Sunrise Christian Academy, The University of Illinois-Chicago, and Austin Peay University. The 28-year-old has left a trail of success at his previous stops, as Austin Peay senior forward Terry Taylor was named the OVC Player of the Year in the 2020-2021 season, and UIC closed out the 2019-2020 season with a strong showing in the 2020 Horizon League Tournament title game.

Now, Clark has the opportunity to bring his energetic style to the Vols in the upcoming season and work for Rick Barnes, an opportunity Clark states he is excited to have.

"For me, it's a huge honor,” Clark said. “I'm from Kansas City, Missouri, so I grew up in Big 12 country. Obviously I got to see Rick Barnes at Texas and a lot of his teams. I watched them a crazy amount through the years, so for me, it's working with the guy that has been an idol of mine for a long time in my life. It's a complete dream come true for me. My younger cousin, Ishmail Wainwright, played at Baylor and I remember when we were kids, he always said that he wanted to go to Texas and play for Rick Barnes. So when I got this job, he was blowing my phone up like crazy just because he was in envy that I was actually able to work with Rick Barnes. I'm excited about learning as much as I can. Coach Barnes has done a great job of taking me under his wing and educating me on a lot of different things and showing me a lot of different things. Obviously, you guys know he has stories for days, so those have been great as well for me."

Clark has always been impressed with Rick Barnes teams over the years and has enjoyed working for Barnes thus far on Rocky Top.

"Those teams I watched, they were all really tough,” Clark recalled about Barnes’ teams. “They were competitive, they were talented, but you never felt like the guys were entitled on his teams. You always saw the hard work. He coached probably the best player in the world, and he wasn't out there just jacking up 30 shots a game and playing selfish, he was playing with the team and his team played to win. I always admired that about coach Barnes. Me being a kid, you see Rick Barnes strutting the sideline and coaching these guys hard, and then I get here and the first thing he does when I meet him is talk about my suit and how he thought it made me look like Buddy Love from The Nutty Professor. So I was like, 'I guess he's not as serious as everyone says he is, cool.' But it's been great overall."

Clark has praise for the culture surrounding Tennessee basketball, and he believes that his youth can build it up into something even greater.

"My perception of it is everything that I'm about has always been competitive and strong. I think that are expectations, there is a line and a standard that everyone has to meet and it's non-negotiable. I love that. I'm a firm believer in adversity, especially for young guys. I think that's where my age always comes about when I talk to these guys, because I think sometimes, kids have the tendency to say, 'coach, it's different than when you played, you don't know.' But they can't say that to me at all, because I'm not that much older than them. I definitely believe in them being tested and going through battles and wars, because I know nothing is ever handed to you and I also try to use the fact that I'm here at 28 years old, so obviously I've been in a lot of adverse situations, so for them, getting those experiences is going to help them longer in life. I think that's the best thing that signifies coach Barnes' culture because it raises men. Not just basketball players, it raises men."

Clark has already had a hand in developing current NBA players such as Tyrese Maxey from the 76ers and Shaq Harrison from the Jazz, and he also played a role in developing Gonzaga star Drew Timme. Clark will look to bring that influence to the Vols in 2021-2022, which could help Tennessee potentially make a deeper run in the 2022 March Madness Bracket