Next in line
Valparaiso’s Clark, who is retired Chesterton coach Campbell’s granddaughter, continues family legacy
The second time around has been just a little bit sweeter for Valparaiso sophomore Cadynce Clark.
The 5-foot-7 guard missed the last 11 games last season, including the Vikings’ run to their first sectional championship since 2005, after suffering a broken left foot.
So Clark is happy to be in the thick of things this postseason. Valparaiso won its second straight sectional title last week.
“This year, it makes it so special to be able to experience this because last year I wasn’t able to experience it to the fullest, as I was expecting that I would,” she said. “This year is a whole lot more special because I actually get to do it this year.”
Clark is averaging 8.9 points, behind sophomore guard Lillian Barnes and senior forward Becca Gerdt, along with 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 steals as the Vikings (18-7) get ready to play No. 8 Northridge (24-3) in the Class 4A LaPorte Regional on Saturday.
“Cadynce is somebody who’s outside shot is really good,” Valparaiso coach Candy Wilson said. “I still tell her that her jump shot’s her best thing. She is such a pure shooter. She’s very explosive. And she’s just getting better and better the more she plays.”
Clark, part of a renowned athletics family, has earned the trust of teammates such as senior forward/center Raegan O’Halek.
“She’s great,” O’Halek said. “She’s basically our shooter. Obviously, she has a ton of qualities, but she’s our main shooter. I’m always looking to her. If I’m in the post, I can look for her on the outside, and I can count on her shot. She has a really good, steady shot.
“It’s just been so nice having her back after last season. She was out for a while, but we’ve been playing together since the summer, when she got back, and she’s been working hard ever since then.”
Clark averaged 5.4 points in 15 games as a freshman, last playing on Dec. 27, 2022.
“It’s tough for anybody to be a freshman and play varsity,” Wilson said. “There’s the mental side of just getting into high school and then transitioning from playing middle school basketball to high school. AAU is not the same because you have people scouting you in high school. In AAU, somebody is not breaking tape down. In high school, there are no secrets. Everybody knows every little thing about you.
“So she didn’t get to play as much in the front end of the season last year. Then she started getting more playing time when she started getting comfortable with things. She started hitting her stride. She was having good games. Then she had to sit out the rest of the season.”
Clark said she doesn’t recall a specific incident that caused the injury.
“It was just a gradual thing,” she said. “I’m not really sure when it happened. It just hurt worse and worse and worse. Then I guess it eventually broke.”
Clark was sidelined for four months. She credited Gerdt, who
also missed the rest of last season after she suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 16, 2022, for helping her through the process.
“I was in a boot, on crutches, nonweight-bearing,” Clark said. “I couldn’t walk on it. After the season, there was a lot of physical therapy, exercises. I worked hard to get my strength back. My whole leg, my whole body, I just wasn’t the same physically. It took a lot of building back and getting back into it. The summertime was big for me. Getting my confidence back was a really big thing.”
Clark can rely on people in her circle for support too.
Her mother, Jackie (Campbell) Clark, became Chesterton’s all-time scoring leader before graduating in 1999 and continuing her career at Colorado State.
“It’s pretty cool having a mom who knows so much,” Cadynce Clark said. “I can really look up to her. Her advice is always my favorite. She’s one of my biggest role models.
“It’s just fun. I just love having her, being able to trust her with coaching me and everything.”
Jackie Clark is one of four sisters who all played at Chesterton for their father, Jack Campbell, who earlier this week announced his resignation after 36 seasons as coach. The Trojans had lost to Valparaiso in a sectional opener last week. In the spring, Campbell stepped down as baseball coach after 53 years. He began his career in the Valparaiso school district.
Wilson, a 1990 Chesterton graduate, played for Campbell in 1988-89, his debut season, and in 198990.
“Here’s what’s crazy,” Wilson said. “I played in his first game as a girls coach, and I coached against him in his last game. It’s kind of wild.”
Cadynce Clark, who lived in the San Antonio area for the first 13 years of her life, said she enjoyed competing against her grandfather.
“It was cool,” she said. “My mom played for him, so it was pretty cool to get to play against him. Moving here, I always wanted that. I was really excited because I would get to play against my grandpa, and that was a big deal for me.
“He has an amazing legacy. It’s pretty cool to have him as your grandpa.”
Clark’s family also has strong ties to Valparaiso. Her father, Don, is a 1999 graduate who set records as a running back for the Vikings, earning all-state honors as a senior in 1998, before playing at Air Force.
He is Valparaiso’s assistant athletic director.
Clark has younger brothers in eighth grade and fourth grade and has a younger sister in sixth grade, so Campbell will have opportunities to see them play.
“We have a lot of stuff going on,” she said. “I’m going to have more games. My siblings are going to have more games. So he’ll be able to go to those now that he’s retired. That’s pretty cool that he’ll be around more, go to everything.”
Clark keeps busy in the gym, according to Wilson.
“She’s a really hard worker,” Wilson said. “She’s here all the time. She does things on her own. Her mom’s her shooting coach, which she should be. She’s excellent, and she had a very good teacher herself. Cadynce is just grinding it out constantly.”
Clark said she hopes the Vikings can grind it out Saturday after they lost to South Bend Washington in the regional last season. Valparaiso last won a regional in 2004.
“It’s really fun to be able to do this with such a special team,” Clark said. “I’m so happy this team has gotten this far. We’re all so close. We’re all best friends on and off the court. We all love each other. I trust these girls with my life.”