Clear Creek coach led Wildcats for 28 years
Buddy Carlisle, who continued a storied legacy at Clear Creek High School as its head basketball coach for 28 years, died early Thursday morning at age 70.
Carlisle, who retired in 2006, enjoyed a stellar career as a Wildcats player and was, for many years beyond his retirement, an avid Clear Creek supporter.
“I feel like I am the luckiest guy in the world to play here and then come back and coach,” Carlisle told the Bay Area Citizen in 2006.
The Carlisle family moved to League City in 1950. Buddy’s father, George, created a basketball dynasty at Clear Creek.
Buddy and his brother, Billy, played for Bill Krueger, who succeeded George Carlisle as the Clear Creek coach.
Buddy Carlisle became Clear Creek’s head coach in 1978 and served in that capacity until his retirement.
He fashioned a 561-361 record during that time, which included 12 trips to the playoffs. Thirteen times his teams won 20 or more games, and in the 1998-99 season, Creek posted a 30-4 record.
The court at Carlisle Fieldhouse at Clear Creek High School is named in Buddy Carlisle’s honor.
Krueger, who retired at Clear Lake after the 1995-96 season as the winningest high school basketball coach in the nation, says he’ll always be indebted to the Carlisles.
“The Carlisle family has been so important to me,” Krueger said. “I was at Southwest Texas State when George was there, and that’s how I got the Creek job, which was the best job in the state and one of the best in the nation.
“Billy and Buddy were both two of the best players I ever coached. Buddy knew basketball as well as anybody that ever played the game.”
Former Clear Creek football coach Darrell Warden knew Buddy Carlisle for more than 30 years.
“He always had tremendous teams, and he was a true motivator,” Warden said. “When you watched him coach, he was enthusiastic and positive.
“When you talk about somebody bleeding Wildcat maroon, that was Buddy Carlisle.”