St. Anselm basketball program was worth Brewer player’s wait

Men’s College Basketball

Although it usually doesn’t pay for high school students to take things slowly when selecting prospective colleges and sending in applications, Darren Clough of Brewer found that playing the waiting game was the best thing he could have done.

Clough did not feel he was totally ready to enter college after graduating from Brewer High in 1990, so he decided to go to prep school for a year.

“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do and wasn’t sure I was ready to go,” said Clough who was selected as Midweek’s Athlete of the Month in January 1990.

He attended Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield where he improved his stock considerably as a student and a basketball player.

That year at MCI, a school that has attracted recruiters from several of the nation’s top college basketball programs, elevated his standing tremendously in the eyes of college coaches and admissions officials alike.

He had his pick of several schools, but ultimately chose to attend the University of Maine last fall. Clough hoped to make the UMaine men’s team as a walk-on.

However, Clough found the large-school atmosphere at UMaine not to his liking and dropped out after the first semester.

He spent the spring of 1992 working part-time and taking two classes at UMaine to keep his study skills sharp before transferring and accepting a full basketball scholarship to St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., in September.

St. Anselm is a private, NCAA Division II school. The basketball team is 3-4 so far this season.

“I was nervous. I thought I’d be rusty after a whole year off,” said Clough.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound swingman has proven to be anything but rusty during this, his freshman season, with the Hawks.

Clough has played in all seven games. He has started the last five. He is averaging 12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.

“He’s exactly what our team needed,” said Keith Dickson, St. Anselm’s head coach. “He’s been everything I thought plus a thousand other things.”

Dickson was so impressed by Clough, he offered the former Brewer High School player a scholarship without having seen him play in person.

“Max Good (MCI’s head coach) called me and told us about him. I talked to him when he and his parents came down to visit. After meeting him, I said, `I really want to coach that kid. There’s just something about him,’ ” Dickson said.

Clough is the only player on the starting five who is not a junior. His versatility has been a bonus for Dickson, both offensively and defensively. “He gives us a lot of flexibility on defense because he can guard big and small players,” the coach said.

Clough also causes opponents fits with the matchup problems he creates while playing offense.

Clough is studying business at St. Anselm, a much smaller school with an enrollment only one-eighth that of UMaine. “I like the smaller classes; being out of state. It’s a perfect fit for me,” he added.

His style of play has also fit in perfectly with his new team.

“This is a perfect match for him,” Dickson agreed. “He has a certain presence. He’s a very intense competitor and that carries over to the team. Intangible things are what he does best.”

Although the Hawks have a losing record, both Dickson and Clough believe the team is close to turning the corner.

“It’s a young team, but I’ve seen a lot of improvement already,” said Dickson of the Hawks who include just two seniors. “Darren typifies the team. He’s a quick learner and I think he has a lot more potential for improvement.”