Sam is the son of William Clark and Catherine Cyrus and is a Biology major with a 3.17 GPA. Sam was selected as an All-American by Div. III News and finished his stellar Colby career 19th on Colby's All-Time scoring list with 1123 pts. He is the 15th player in school history to be named All-American. Clark was a two year Captain for Coach Dick Whitmore's White Mules and led the Mules to a 17-10 record this year and a final four berth in the NESCAC tournament as he led Colby and the league with 20.3 PPG. Clark was also named NESCAC Player of the year and All-New England Div. III

Following a year in which the White Mules reached the semi-finals of the ECAC tournament, and with eight returning letter winners, expectations were high for the 1999-2000 season. The blend of experience, know how and desire translated into success for much of the season. Playing in the Division III Conference rated as the most competitive nationally, Colby faced six eventual conference champions as well in the regular season. Blended among all of this is the fact that coach Dick Whitmore was closing in on 500 career wins at Colby.

In the early season there was a disappointment at Rochester, but a strong performance against Alma (MI) in the Colby Invitational propelled the team to a 5-1 pre-season record. After Christmas, Colby played its first eventual conference champion at Salem State. The game was exciting throughout but Colby did not protect a late game lead and dropped a 70-66 heartbreaker.

The next week brought Clark to town fresh off a twenty point win at Salem and on their way to a NEWMAC championship. This was one of the highlight games of the year as Colby lead early and finished with a convincing 91-57 victory. The NESCAC season opened with a come from behind win against Tufts and another come back versus Hamilton. A CBB win over Bates led to the first away conference weekend.

Connecticut College, on a seventeen game conference win streak, fought off the Mules in New London 80-72 after Colby had erased a ten point halftime deficit to take a second half lead. The next afternoon provided the most dramatic victory of the season as Ken Allen beat Wesleyan in Middletown with a jumper as time expired.

Sandwiched among the January successes was a 78-60 win over University of Maine at Farmington (Maine Athletic Conference Champions). This was the 500th victory for Dick Whitmore at Colby. After a big win over Bowdoin 69-52 at home, the stage was set to meet Williams on Friday, February 11th, also the weekend which celebrated WhitmoreÕs 500th win.

The emotions provided too much, and, after holding the Eph's to three points in the first nine minutes, Colby struggled offensively the remainder of the game and dropped a 59-48 decision. The following afternoon was the longest of the year as Colby lost a large early lead and the game to Middlebury 64-57.

Much of the overall season success was on the line at Trinity. In one of the finest efforts of the season Colby built an early lead and prevailed 88-74. The next day was a wake-up call as Amherst spanked the Mules 80-59.

The CBB was on the line the next week as the regular season closed at Bowdoin and home to Bates. At Brunswick Colby defended well the entire game and clinched the CBB with a 66-53 victory. After a first half struggle against Bates, Colby closed out with a flourish to finish at 17-6.

The ECAC play-offs followed the next week and after a first round win over Wheaton College entertained the home crowd with a 68-66 nail biter over UMass Dartmouth. In the Sunday final against Tufts the most exciting game in many years ended in a 74-73 championship game defeat.

Ken Allen was named All-American, Sam Clark was a second team All-NESCAC, while Jake Civiello and David Forsyth were elected along with second year captain Sam Clark as the leaders for 2000-2001.

THE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE

The experience in Australia for Colby Men's Basketball was unique and totally enjoyable. The departure on August 12 was tortuous with a cancelled flight creating great turmoil and drama in getting to Los Angeles for the flight to Sydney.

We arrived into Sydney after losing a day to the International Dateline, practiced with their NBL team on Monday AM, toured the Olympic facilities, then the Sydney surrounds and the Harbor. The weather was very cool, it is winter in Australia, and the variance was from 40-65 degrees.

On Tuesday the 15th we flew to Melbourne, played six games in eight nights at various locations near and far from Melbourne. On a daily basis, we practiced at the Melbourne Athletic Center in the AM, toured in the afternoon and played in the evening. The competition in Melbourne was against their ABA (similar to the USBL or IBL in the US). The games were followed each evening by a reception catered by the host club. This was where our players learned the most and became wonderful ambassadors by the end of the week. On Wednesday the 23rd we flew to Hawaii and returned home on Saturday.

For the seven games we grew as a team, learned how to compete at the International level and gave everyone a chance to play significant minutes. There were some surprises, most notably in the younger groups and the quality of our play improved with each game.

On our night off we went to the Australian Rules Football Semifinal at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds and enjoyed a spectacle unlike any in this country. We sat in the midst of 50,000 people almost all partisans, and somewhat fanatical. It was totally enjoyable.

The days were probably too packed, but we found Melbourne to be a city of many faces and a great cultural experience. From the gold mines of Ballarat, to the seaside at Dromana, to the rain forest in Dandenong and to Traralgon in the Latrobe Valley we viewed the city and country life of Australia up front and personal. The public transportation is unbelievable, the kangaroos a spectacle, the people extremely hospitable and the life style reserved, but the arenas a little cool