By Thomas Grant Jr.
Benjamin Lee built the River Bluff boys’ basketball from scratch into a state champion.
With his announced retirement, the school has once again turned to another former Lexington High School player from the Bailey Harris “coaching tree” to lead the program.
On Tuesday, River Bluff received approval from Lexington School District One to hire Will Clarke as its new boys basketball coach.
A press conference will take place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the school.
“He’s a winner,” said Harris, who coached Clarke in 2000-01. “He was a true glue guy on that 2000 state championship team. He played point guard (but we had 4 point guards on the floor). But could do a little bit of everything on the floor. Great leadership from him as a player as well. He also played in the 2001 North / South game.”
Clarke comes over from Dorman High School where he served as an assistant coach under another former Wildcat Thomas Ryan. The Cavaliers have won five state titles since 2017, including a stretch of four in a row.
Ironically, River Bluff ended Dorman’s title run by defeating it in the 2021 Class 5A final.
Clarke also enjoyed success at Palmetto High School.
“Lexington is home—it’s where I learned what it means to compete, to lead, and to represent something bigger than yourself,” said Clarke. “This opportunity means so much not just to me, but to my family as well. We’re excited to be part of the River Bluff community and to invest in these players on and off the court.”
In 13 seasons with the Gators, Lee also won 161 games, two region titles and sent 11 players to the college level.
Harris said Clarke possesses similarities to Lee is terms of style, approach and character. He also said he’s benefited from working under Ryan and competing in Region 2-5A which had three schools advance to the third round of the Class 5A Division I playoffs.
Clarke’s hiring leaves at seven the number of head coaches who were former Lexington High School players/assistant coaches under Harris. The others are:
Tyson Bouknight (American Leadership Academy)
- Brett Jones (Dutch Fork)
- Thomas Ryan (Dorman)
- Davis Bowne (St. James)
- Zachary Richardson (Spartanburg)
- Jay Reid (Ben Lippen)
- Devin Liferidge (Rabon-Gap Nacoochee in Georgia)
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Clarke to the Gator family,” said Andrew Peckham, River Bluff Athletics Director. “His proven track record of winning at the highest levels, combined with his passion for student-athlete development and his ties to this community, makes him the perfect fit to lead our basketball program.”
