The Chico State Men’s Basketball Team is coming off a West Regional Championship and an Elite Eight trip. As they set the school record for wins with 26 this season, none of this would not be possible without head coach Greg Clink, who may have just coached his final game on the Wildcat sidelines.
It is rumored Portland State, a division I program out of the Big Sky Conference, has an interest in coach Clink. As much as we would love to see our head coach stay, we have to understand that division I coaching jobs are very coveted. We should thank Greg Clink for all the success he has brought to Chico State.
Clink has been an assistant coach at the division I level with UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara. He has shown that he can build a program as he did here at Chico State. He has changed the culture of Chico State basketball, from having a 7-20 record in his first season to finishing 26-8 in his latest season.
He gets his players to buy into his system, and they have won because of it. In his nine seasons at the helm, the Wildcats have brought home three conference and two regional championships. The next step in his career is to be a division I head coach.
There are many factors to consider should Clink feel the need to jump to the next level. Portland is a big market and Portland State University will have a brand new arena for the 2018-19 season. It is also a much bigger school with more money and more advanced sports facilities.
These factors make it reasonable for Clink to consider leaving. However, maybe there is a chance that this Chico State alumnus wants to continue to fill the Acker Gym rafters with more regional championship banners.
We know how much he enjoys coaching at his alma mater and the winning culture he has built. Coach Clink is truly one of us, and we should continue to support him if he chooses to take the division I job somewhere else.
No matter where Greg Clink will be next season, his track record says he will be successful.
Today we celebrate the historic 2016-17 campaign and tomorrow we may be saying thank you to the man who brought us nine great seasons and a lot of achievements with trophies back to our campus.
Steven Hennessy can be reached at [email protected] or @theorion_sports on Twitter.
Rich Johnson // Mar 29, 2017 at 5:11 pm
Portland is a great city, I also think it would be hard for Klink to turn down a D-1 job, one he so richly deserves. If he got that program going like he ‘s done at Chico I think he would then be a candidate for a Pac 12 job. Really, I think Klink could be a head coach in the Pac 12 now – he’s that good. One name I like for his replacement is Gus Argenal, current coach of CSU Hayward. He’s an ex-WildCat assistant, Klink mentored him too – so losing Klink would be mitigated by getting one of his best assitants – one who has head coaching experience. Would Argenal leave Hayward to come back to Chico? Possibly, Hayward is a boring commuter college, houses are a lot cheaper in Chico.