PORT ANGELES — Lance Von Vogt’s goals aren’t much different from any other college basketball coach.
Championships, division titles, banners hanging from the rafters . . . there isn’t a program in the country that envisions any less in its master plan.
More important to the 36-year-old Peninsula College men’s coach, however, is the process by which his Pirates go about getting that done.
“I always tell the guys, ‘Sometimes, the scoreboard lies,'” Von Vogt said while sitting in his office days before the start of his first season in Port Angeles.
“You can go out there and win a game, but the other team got more out of their talent than you did out of yours. So we don’t really focus on the word ‘win’ as much.”
Rather, it’s the word “consistency.”
“There’s an awesome quote from Aristotle that says, ‘You are what you continually do,'” Von Vogt said.
“If we exhibit toughness on a play-by-play basis, on a day-by-day basis, on a game-by-game basis, if we exhibit rebounding and fundamentals and discipline on the court, off the court and in the classroom, then that’s what we become.”
Quoting an ancient Greek philosopher to put a new spin on the old “one game at a time” sports cliche?
Now THAT’S uncommon.
But for a coach who cut his teeth under unorthodox coaching legend Lefty Driesell at Georgia State, perhaps it’s to be expected.
Driesell is credited with starting the nationwide tradition of Midnight Madness during his highly successful 17-year tenure at the University of Maryland.
And Von Vogt brought that same custom — he called it “Pirate Madness” — to Peninsula College for its first basketball practice of the year earlier this fall.
Players from the men’s and women’s teams ran out of a tunnel to spotlights in a blackened gym and were introduced to the crowd at the season-opening event.
They performed a team dance routine, scrimmaged and capped things off with a dunk contest.
It was just the sort of fun basketball environment Von Vogt sees as being essential to his program’s success.
“The guys enjoy that kind of stuff,” Von Vogt said. “It gives them a chance to express their personalities in a fun and engaging way.
“For me, that’s what college is all about. It’s about the guys engaging with the fans and the community.
“At the end of the day, that’s why guys are going to want to play for us.”
Von Vogt replaced outgoing coach Peter Stewart this June after Stewart resigned to take a job in his native North Dakota at Minot State.
The move to the North Olympic Peninsula is the last of several stops along Von Vogt’s 12-year coaching career.
That odyssey began as a graduate assistant under Paul Hewitt at Georgia Tech, then later led to head of basketball operations positions at Georgia State and Eastern Kentucky, a head coaching gig at Oxford College of Emory in Georgia and, most recently, an assistant’s job at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz.
Along the way, he picked up many of the ideas that are now part of his vision for Peninsula College.
“You find out really quick that coaching is more than X’s and Os and drawing something on a board,” said Von Vogt, who played college ball at St. Johns River Community College in Palatka, Fla.
“The one thing [Hewitt and Driesell] did was bring people together.
Added Von Vogt, “When you’re a new coach you have to set the tone. You have to let the guys know what do we stand for, and that’s been a focus of mine since I stepped on campus.
“I shared the vision with the guys: We’re going to be a family.
“I’m sure we’re going to have our arguments, but at the end of the day we’re going to look out for each other like brothers.”
That idea is something that has been embraced by many Pirates this fall, according to returning sophomore Trevant Musgrow.
Much of that, however, has to do with the players Von Vogt brought in to the program, the 5-foot-11 shooting guard said.
“Last year we had a lot of different personalities on the team,” Musgrow said.
“This year we’re a lot closer. We all hang out, and it affects on the court and off the court.
“I love it, and I just feel like it’s going to be a good season for us this year.”
Of course, Von Vogt’s predecessor, Stewart, had his share of good seasons at Peninsula as well.
Stewart guided the Pirates to the NWAACC playoffs in six of his eight seasons on campus, compiling a 124-80 record with three North Division titles.
Obviously, that hasn’t kept Von Vogt from trying to put his own stamp on the program.
In addition to Pirate Madness, Von Vogt has also installed a new weight training program focussing on more reps and less weight as well as a more up-tempo practice style.
“With Coach V, we have transition offense the whole time at practice,” returning sophomore forward Jeremiah Johnson said.
“We’ll do one thing on one side [of the court] and then as soon as we’re done there we’ll run to the other side and do the same thing.
“It’s a lot faster, so it’s getting us ready for actual game situations.
“That’s a little bit different than last year where we kind of ran through stuff over and over [on one side of the court] and then put it into play, instead of putting it into play as we do it.”
The emphasis on the transition game is something Von Vogt said fits the talent of his team.
A strong recruiter at Arizona Western — he helped bring in four All-Americans in five years in Yuma — Von Vogt put together a roster this summer loaded with athletic guards and wings.
Among the newcomers is 5-foot-10 point guard Mitrell Clark, a former Nevada player of the year for El Âdorado High School in Las Vegas.
Clark received interest from numerous Division I universities after his senior year in 2009, including Loyola Marymount and Seattle University.
Unable to meet academic standards, however, Clark opted to play under Von Vogt and head coach Kelly Green at Arizona Western last year.
He then followed Von Vogt to Port Angeles this offseason.
“He’s an outstanding coach,” said Clark, who averaged 8.8 points and 3.5 assists per game as a freshmen in Arizona. “He’s direct, he’s detailed and I love working with him.”
It appears Clark is not alone.
The Pirates will carry a roster of 19 players this season — four returning sophomores — with three planning to redshirt.
Von Vogt said that should translate into a great deal of versatility for the Pirates this season; enough so that they should be able to compete with the NWAACC elite in his first year.
Musgrow, an NWAACC veteran, agrees.
“I think we can go really far,” Musgrow said. “As our coach says, we have to stay consistent in everything we do. If we don’t stay consistent, then we’re going to fall.”
Sounds a lot like Aristotle.
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Sports writer Matt Schubert can be reached at 360-417-3526 or at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.
