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Clayton team enjoys life in the fast lane

Frank Rago remembers the score of his first victory as the Clayton High School boys' basketball coach. "41-36," Rago said.

Clayton head coach Frank Rago speaks to his team.
Clayton head coach Frank Rago speaks to his team.Read moreCHARLES MOSTOLLER / For the Inquirer

Frank Rago remembers the score of his first victory as the Clayton High School boys' basketball coach.

"41-36," Rago said.

That's a typical halftime score for Clayton these days, and if the Clippers are the team with 36, Rago is OK with that.

There are still 16 more minutes to shoot three-pointers, fastbreak, shoot three-pointers, double-team the ball at every chance, substitute in waves, and shoot three-pointers.

Rago doesn't pretend to have instituted a winning strategy at the little school in Gloucester County.

He's not necessarily looking for a competitive edge, although there have been nights when the Clippers hit a good percentage of their three-pointers and wear down opponents with their frentic pace.

But the reality is that the Clippers probably has the same record - 7-13, including four losses in a row - playing the most distinctive style in South Jersey as they would if they were the same as everybody else.

Which is kind of Rago's point.

"That was fun," Rago said after Clayton's 86-65 loss to Audubon in a nonleague game on the Clippers' home court Monday night. "We didn't shoot very well, but I think the kids had fun out there, and I think people who paid to come in got their $2 worth."

Clayton made just 7 of 29 shots from beyond the arc and surrendered a lot of easy baskets, its extended defense creating plenty of space for Audubon big men Brian Furlong and Quitay Long.

"I've never seen a team that plays like that," the 6-foot-5 Furlong said after scoring a career-high 28 points. "It was like a track meet. You don't think you're going to get tired and by the end of the first quarter, you're breathing heavy."

Rago radically changed Clayton's style of basketball about five years ago. His teams were pretty traditional in his first eight seasons.

The Clippers emulate the Grinnell College "system," with a heavy emphasis on three-point shots, pressure defense, and waves of subtitutions.

Grinnell, an NCAA Division III program in Iowa, is renowned for its fast-paced style. This season, Grinnell is averaging 106.9 points while allowing 105.6.

Rago also takes some inspiration from those famous late-1980s Loyola Marymount teams of former La Salle coach Paul Westhead, the so-called "Guro of Go" in the ESPN "30 for 30" documentary.

"He's actually one of my fraternity brothers' uncle," Rago said of Westhead. "I met him once, talked to him about playing this style."

Rago doesn't pretend to be a revolutionary. He knows there are basketball traditionalists who recoil at his team's approach, especially the low-percentage chucks from distance and casual surrender of barely contested buckets.

He used to be one, too.

He also knows he's in a unique situation as a veteran math teacher and coach at a small school without a history of division titles or tournament success in the sport.

"I don't know if I could get away with this," at a larger, more-established program, Rago admits.

There are nights when the system seems to be as much the problem as the solution. That's when the three-point shots clang off the rim and the other team keeps converting layups and the substitution pattern - five men in, five men out, usually about every two minutes - seems to disrupt the Clippers' rhythm as much as it wears down opponents.

"But if we played slow, people would say, 'Why don't you play faster?'" Rago said. "People come up to me and say, 'How can you give up 110 points?'

"I tell them, 'Well, that's how we score 108.'

"I've heard people say, 'Defense, anyone?' after one of our games. If they go see a 37-35 game, are they saying, 'Offense, anyone?'

"So there's good and bad."

The Clippers score an average of 77.1 points and allow an average of 82.9 points. They allowed 110 in a loss to St. Joseph and scored 110 in a win over Vineland Prep.

They beat Wildwood, 101-99, and defeated a 16-win Gloucester team, 81-78, on a night when they made 14 three-pointers.

"It works for them," Audubon coach Ryan Gilmore said. "They've qualified for the tournament. [Rago] knows what's best for them."

Clayton junior Mike Bennett is averaging 22.8 points. He's a slick guard who can score from distance and finish at the rim, too.

"We love to run," Bennett said. "It's a lot of fun. A lot of teams don't like to play against us because they don't like to run as much as we do."

Rago said the best part of the system is that every athlete on the roster gets to play in every game. Meaningful minutes, too.

"Now when I'm talking in practice, the ninth, 10th, 11th guy is listening, because he knows he's going to play," Rago said. "They all feel part of it."

The coach knows the system isn't for everyone. He's not even sure it would be for him if he didn't have a bunch of 5-foot-10 guards in his program.

"Hey, if a 6-6 kid who can play walked through the door," Rago said, "bye-bye system."

panastasia@phillynews.com

@PhilAnastasia

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