Legendary Clarkston basketball coach Dan Fife has passed away. (Drew Ellis – Media News Group, File)
Michigan basketball has lost one of its pillars.
Legendary Clarkston boys basketball coach and athletic director Dan Fife has passed away.
The Clarkston Basketball X (formerly Twitter) account posted a tribute to the program's former leader, writing, “Coach, the impact you have had on and off the court is truly incredible. Your dedication to Clarkston Athletics and especially Clarkston Basketball is unmatched. It's amazing how much you have been able to get out of your players and teams consistently year after year.”
Fife, a Wolves player in the 1960s, returned to his alma mater to coach the varsity team for 36 seasons, winning 703 games, 29 league championships, 30 district championships, 13 regional championships and, the highest honor of his late career, two state championships before retiring in 2018.
“Coach Fife was like a second father to me. He was my coach, my friend and my mentor. The life lessons he taught me will stay with me forever. Coach Fife saw parallels between life and every sport his kids played,” said current Wolves head coach Tim Wasilk, a former Fife player who followed in his mentor's footsteps on the bench. “He truly impacted thousands of people. We are all better people for knowing him. Coach Fife's legacy will live on in Clarkston and beyond for decades to come. I am honored to help carry on the legacy he built. I will miss him so much.”
He ranks third on the MHSAA boys basketball coaching wins list behind recently retired Beaverton's Roy Johnston (833) and River Rouge legend Lofton Green (728) and has been elected to both the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the Michigan Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
“Coach Fife is a legend. … It was an honor to have him as a coach and I will miss him,” Clarkston's current athletic director Jeff Kossin said at the time of Coach Fife's retirement. His passing undoubtedly increased that sentiment by leaps and bounds. “He really became synonymous with the school. When you think of Clarkston, you think of Dan Fife.”
Drafted by both the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and MLB's Detroit Tigers, Fife spent two seasons (1973 and 1974) as a pitcher with the Minnesota Twins before returning to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, where he spent four-plus seasons as a basketball assistant.
Then he came home.
He spent one season (1981-82) as freshman coach and was promoted to varsity coach the following year.
The Wolves won 20 or more games in 22 of Fife's 36 seasons, including a 117-11 record in his final five seasons. Last year's Mr. Basketball, Foster Royer, went 97-6 during his four-year career. Royer's No. 1 has been retired, along with the coach's old No. 33.
Fife, who scored 1,589 points in high school, coached three players who topped 2,000 points in high school: Royer and his own sons, Dugan and Dane (1998 Mr. Basketball), both of whom surpassed the 2,000-point mark before playing in the Big Ten.
But as the basketball program's memorial points out, his impact on the community went beyond just the high school court.
“You were and remain the best basketball coach in the state of Michigan. From coaching your own kids to knowing the names of every kid in the McGrath Basketball League over the years to coaching the kids of your former players, your impact will be felt for generations. More importantly, your love for (wife) Jan, Dugan, Jeremy and Dane is admirable. Family always came first to you and you poured your heart and soul into them. We will continue to play hard, smart and together! Coach Fife, we love you and we miss you.”
[This is a developing story, and will be updated.]
