Clancy, Wheeling believe better days ahead for Wildcats

John Clancy called it "a good day to be a Wildcat."

Wheeling believes Friday was a great day for its boys basketball program when it chose Clancy as its new varsity head coach.

And the 2003 Daily Herald All-Area guard at Buffalo Grove firmly believes better days are ahead for a Wheeling program coming off a 4-23 season where it went winless in the Mid-Suburban East.

"I really think this thing is not as far off as people think," Clancy said. "I think we're going to have some success with a lot of kids coming back. I really think it's not a complete remodel and we'll build on some of the foundation Lou (Wool) built."

Wool stepped down last month after 10 years in charge where he worked tirelessly to build a successful program on and off the court. He proved it's not an impossible dream as his 2004 team won Wheeling's first division title in 32 years.

Now it's time for Clancy, who just turned 25, to get the Wildcats believing again. He spent last year as a varsity assistant with Wool after stints of one year at Elk Grove and two years at St. Viator.

"I think he's beyond his age in his knowledge of basketball," said Wheeling assistant principal for student activities Steve May. "He's been around basketball his whole life.

"He clearly knows what it takes to be successful in the Mid-Suburban League because he was as a player. In his mind he's been looking forward to doing this his whole life.

"I think the opportunity came a little quicker than he thought, but he's ready."

Clancy played three years on the BG varsity and was the leader of its 2003 MSL East title team. But coaching has long been part of the plan - especially after his playing days at Concordia University in River Forest ended during his sophomore year.

"It's one of those cases where I'm really doing something I love to do, teaching and coaching," said Clancy, who is a physical education teacher at Wheeling. "I've been a gym rat my entire life. I loved watching the game and loved watching coaches and the strategy and tactics and the back-and-forth of it all. Today is a dream come true."

Clancy has some clear ideas of what he wants to do to make even more dreams a reality at Wheeling. Even though he called himself "an offensive guy" he knows defense will be the key to success. He plans to keep the pressure on whether it's through man-to-man or zone trapping.

He also plans to stay with the dribble-drive offense he started integrating this year. Clancy saw signs of improvement and a better understanding from the players of how it needs to be run.

"Wheeling has some tough kids and pretty good athletes," Clancy said. "We need to make people uncomfortable. We want to be hard to prepare for."

Clancy also is ready to get his players better prepared from top to bottom. One of his plans this summer is to find tougher competition that includes Chicago Public League teams. Getting more things going at the feeder level is a high priority.

"We want to get kids excited about basketball in the community," Clancy said, "so when they come into the program they're a little more polished."

Another priority is maintaining the class the program exuded in all areas under Wool.

"Lou did a great job of getting people a positive perception of the program in the community," May said. "John is of the same vein. He's going to want the same for the program and it will be a good transition for the kids."

It should make for a smooth and exciting one for Clancy and Wheeling. It's a place he wants to be and where he loves working with people such as Kevin Muck, his department chairman.

And he's glad working for people such as Wool, Viator coach Joe Majkowski and Elk Grove coach Anthony Furman gave him a quick preparation base for his not-so-long awaited challenge.

"There's no doubt about it, it's one of those right place at the right time fits," Clancy said. "It was always my ambition to be a head coach and I wanted to be a young head coach. But I didn't realize the opportunity would come about this quickly.

"I'm excited about the chance to put Wheeling basketball on the map."

mmaciaszek@dailyherald.com