Wally Halas \u201973, MPA \u201993, Clark\u2019s Hall of Fame basketball coach was feted at a Sept. 25 dinner that drew former players, coaches, and many well-wishers to the Kneller Athletic Center, the site of most of his 233 career wins and now the official home of the Wally Halas Coach\u2019s Box. The 38-foot-long rectangular space in front of the home bench was Halas\u2019 territory during his Clark coaching career (1974-1987), and he roamed within it \u2014 and sometimes outside it \u2014 in the hunt for victory after victory. Under Halas, the men\u2019s team achieved an astonishing 108-8 record inside the Kneller against Division 3 opponents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tributes to Halas at the Friday dinner, organized by former players Jay Ash \u201983 and Kevin Cherry \u201981, and emceed by Ash, recalled the coaching legend\u2019s inspiring accomplishments on the sidelines, including 10 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, but more profoundly the enduring impact he had on his players across their lifetime. When Halas pulled away the tarp to reveal the newly inscribed Coach\u2019s Box, his grateful players raised a glass in honor of their coach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The accolades and awards are all things that you can look at and cherish, but when I look over this room, I think this is what Wally really cherishes.<\/p>\n\n\n
Athletic Director Trish Cronin<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Coach Wally Halas had an extraordinary impact on the university, the game of basketball, and on many of us fortunate enough to have known him, played for him, and learned from him.<\/p>\n\n\n
Kevin Cherry \u201981<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wally, you demonstrated that the deepest measure of a coach is not simply the record left in the books but the values carried forward in the lives of those you coached.<\/p>\n\n\n
President David Fithian<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Wally, we want to win the way you did, but ultimately, it\u2019s about getting a group of guys to become a family. <\/p>\n\n\n
michael mailhot, Men\u2019s basketball coach<\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Wally, simply put, we\u2019re here tonight to say something that probably can\u2019t be said enough: You are a legend.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
Wally Halas \u201973, MPA \u201993, Clark\u2019s Hall of Fame basketball coach was feted at a Sept. 25 dinner that drew former players, coaches, and many well-wishers to the Kneller Athletic Center, the site of most of his 233 career wins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":29861,"template":"","meta":{"story_color":"var(--clarku-color-deep-red)","story_headerImg":29861,"section_label":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[526],"displayed_author":[498],"featured":[494],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-29859","story","type-story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-athletics","displayed_author-clark-news-staff","featured-secondary"],"yoast_head":"\n
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