Scott Clark must really enjoy a challenge.

Why else would he leave the Simon Fraser Clan to take over the head-coaching position for the TRU WolfPack?

Clark was introduced to the media at the WolfPack’s Tournament Capital Centre office on Thursday as TRU’s third men’s basketball head coach since the end of the 2007-08 season.

He takes over from Thom Gillespie, who was the interim head coach the last two seasons after Nevin Gleddie, who coached the WolfPack into Canada West in 2005-06, was reassigned following the 2007-08 season.

Clark elected to leave SFU, where he had spent the last 15 seasons, to come to TRU. Clark’s Clan team won more games (14) last season than the WolfPack has won in five seasons.

TRU is 11-96 since joining Canada West, and Clark knows there’s a lot of work to be done.

“It’s a bit of a blank slate . . . it’s something you can build from the ground up,” Clark said. “When I took over at (SFU), that was pretty built up. This is different.

“It’s a challenge, and I look forward to that.”

Clark’s press conference appeared to be a big deal for the WolfPack athletic department, with three of TRU’s other coaches attending, along with five of the team’s players and five of the department’s staff members.

Ken Olynyk, TRU’s athletic director, said getting someone like Clark to come to the WolfPack shows that the program is on its way up.

“It really shows that Thompson Rivers University is starting to make a name for itself,” said Olynyk. “There was a lot of people interested in coming here and building a program. We had a lot of people who believed in this institution and believed that they could make a difference.”

Clark had been head coach at Simon Fraser since 1995-96, when he took over from Jay Triano, now head coach of the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. Prior to that, he had worked as a high school coach in Nanaimo, and as an assistant coach with the Clan (1992-93) and the Malaspina Mariners.

The Clan played in the American NAIA until joining Canada West in 2001-02, and has made the playoffs each of the last nine seasons. SFU has decided to join the NCAA’s Division II in the fall.

Last season, Simon Fraser went 14-4 in the Canada West regular season, and made it to a Canada West semifinal.

Greg Stewart, the WolfPack’s 7-foot-2 starting centre, said Clark’s teams always appeared to have a certain element that helped them along.

“One thing I’ve noticed is that his teams seem to have a lot of chemistry,” said Stewart, a South Kam grad. “They seem to play well together, they play as one unit.”

The WolfPack went 3-15 in 2009-10, but lost three of its top players to graduation — guards Sean Garvey and Drew Bleth, and forward Jeff Friesen.

And although his relatively late hiring puts TRU behind the 8-ball in terms of recruiting, Clark told Thursday’s press conference that he was looking at getting a couple of transfers from a junior college in northern California.

Olynyk thinks that Clark could turn the WolfPack around as soon as next season.

“I respect Scott and I respect his abilities,” Olynyk said. “If he gets a couple of kids that he’s been talking to . . . I think we’ll be surprised at how well we do.

“I think that we have a shot at the playoffs this coming year.”

TRU will play a 24-game schedule comprised of doubleheaders against each of the conference’s other teams. Eight teams will make the playoffs.

Clark isn’t immediately focusing on wins and losses — he’s the type of coach that preaches process before results.

“I want to put forward smaller goals, and I think that winning is a byproduct of a number of processes,” he said. “We want to improve . . . we want to play hard, we want to play together. We want to play smart basketball.

“If you look after those small pieces, winning is a byproduct of that.”

Clark is from Kelowna originally, and his parents and a sister still live there.

For his first season with TRU, Clark and his oldest son, Brett, will live in Kamloops, while his wife, Carla, will remain in Langley with his other son, Cole, who is entering his Grade 12 year. Brett will be attending TRU in the fall.

Out of everything that appealed to Clark, the city itself was at the core. He’s excited to get involved in the community.

“Being part of a smaller community — people can get behind a team, a university program,” said Clark. “That’s something I hope will happen here — when we have more success, the community will get behind us and we’ll get behind the community.”

mhunter@kamloopsnews.ca