Scott Clentimack stepping down at Lebanon Catholic
After 19 seasons, 222 wins and four district championships, Scott Clentimack is stepping down as the boys basketball coach at Lebanon Catholic.
The Daily News learned of Clentimack's impending departure on Friday morning and it was later confirmed by the school's Director of Advancement, Lori Kostow.
Lebanon Catholic did not issue a press release on Clentimack's resignation, but Kostow said in reply to an email that "the administration wishes Scott the very best in his new journey and appreciate all of his time and dedication he gave to LC basketball."
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Efforts to reach Clentimack, himself a Lebanon Catholic grad, for comment were unsuccessful as of late Friday afternoon, but some current and former players took to social media to express their gratitude to their former coach for his efforts over the years.
Timmy Orr, a senior guard on Clentimack's last district title team in 2012-13, said on Twitter, "Went thru the ringer with this guy. Ups and downs - mostly ups. Wouldn't have wanted anyone else as my coach."
Rising senior guard Humberto Valerio also took to Twitter, saying, "Going to lose my mentor/father/coach today. Thank you Coach Clentimack for everything."
After taking over the program prior to the 1998-99 season, Clentimack posted a record of 222-275 that included District 3 Class A titles in 1999-2000, 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2012-13.
Ironically, his most successful season guiding the Beavers came out with a district title, in 2001-02 when Catholic went 24-9.
Clentimack notched three 20-plus win seasons, the last a 21-win campaign spearheaded by the Zach Hoover-Randy Pierre backcourt that won district gold in 2005-06. He also recorded nine double-digit win seasons, culminating with a 17-9 campaign in 2013-14.
The program fell on hard times in terms of wins and losses following that season, winning just three games in each of the last three seasons, and suited up just nine players this past season.
But speaking prior to the start of last season, Clentimack seemed to be looking forward to the challenge ahead.
"I've never been in this position," he said of having such a small roster. "It's a new challenge. With everything we've faced over the years I don't know that I've ever been in a situation like this. It's something that keeps it a little fresh, because when it comes to practice I have to be creative and figure stuff out. The way we're gonna look at it is, our goal is to succeed. The journey is to figure out what that means."