Mercer basketball made major moves this offseason as it brought in two new head coaches to lead the men's and women's programs. The men’s team brought in 15-year veteran Ryan Ridder, previously the head coach at UT Martin, Daytona State University and Beth-Cookman University, to lead the men’s program, while the women’s program brought in Michelle Clark-Heard, who entered her 27th year as a coach this season. Clark-Heard took over a role that future Mercer Athletics Hall of Fame coach Susie Gardner left last March.
This past week, Clark-Heard sat down with The Cluster to discuss filling Gardner's shoes, what drew her to Mercer and how the Bears' season is going.
“I came in very excited to build off what she had built before,” said Clark-Heard. “But also I think it’s important to understand that it is a different time and a different landscape, and that we will have to adjust to a different style. I love that challenge though, that’s why I’m a coach.”
Clark-Heard has previously served as head coach of both Kentucky State University and Western Kentucky University, as well as holding multiple different assistant coaching positions throughout the country. Most recently, she was both the assistant coach and assistant Athletic Director for Mississippi State University, a unique job within women’s basketball management.
“I think one unique thing that I bring as a new head coach is my focus on individual relationships with my players, and that was another reason I chose Mercer. As a smaller institution, I could be able to really feel like I’m touching and changing lives and the relationships between the players, having that conversations with them or texting them all the time, these things are really important to me,” Clark-Heard said.
As well as for its smaller size, she was drawn to Mercer because of its “winning culture” and other qualities of the school that were remarkable, such as the campus and the environment.
“I mean, we got to the top 25 most beautiful campuses in the country, right? It’s just something for us that we can get excited about, and I think that’s the biggest thing for me, is the family feel and the love that you can feel within the school, not just for the academic side of things, but the whole picture for everyone, be it of the athlete or just the regular student,” Clark-Heard said. “I think they also do a great job of supporting game day, the atmosphere is incredible and the energy is amazing.”
Team-wise, the Bears had just come off of a comeback win against Southern Conference opponent West Carolina University, a win - which snapped a five-game skid - which Coach Clark-Heard considered pivotal as the season continued through SoCon play.
“I think the main thing that we learned is when adversity hits, we really have the ability to pull together and everyone holds up their end of the bargain and do what they need to do not only individually but also as a part of a larger team,” she added.
“Even though they took a 13-point lead, we never quit and we kept finding ways to score and get stops and got better at being consistent.”
Clark-Heard believes the team has greatly improved from the start of the season, not only in record but also in team dynamics and strategy.
“I think it showed in our last game, to be able to come back on the road, and have a chance to win it like that, I think it shows the camaraderie and the chemistry of the group as a whole,” she said.
Since then, the Bears dropped a game to Samford University, but Mercer can right the ship at home on Thursday against a strong University of Tennessee at Chattanooga squad, who is 6-3 this season against SoCon opponents.
As the season moves on, Mercer has six games left, including against Chattanooga, to find firm footing before the postseason tournament in March. It will be an uphill battle as the team has just two conference wins in eight games, but Clark-Heard believes that the resilience the team displayed against the Catamounts is still with the team, and that they can utilize it down the stretch to make sure that the fundamentals remain sharp.
"We're never going to quit, and we are gonna keep finding ways to score and get stops. I think that we have to get better at continuing to be consistent. In the beginning of the season we were topping the conference in free throws. We got to make sure we're getting to the free throw line in every game because I feel like that's one of our strengths."
Jacob Hossler '28 is majoring in Biology with a potential English minor. In his free time he enjoys photography, writing, and playing tennis and soccer.
