Rocklin-based William Jessup University (WJU) is looking to become a more prominent higher education entity and one way to achieve such status is by making a splash in athletics as success in collegiate sports produces greater media exposure and also more applicants to a school.
The Warriors, owners of the 2013 California Pacific Conference championship, are transitioning to the Golden State Athletic Conference come the 2014-15 season and now Lance Von Vogt has been hired as the new head coach for men's basketball.
A Daytona Beach native, Von Vogt was last at Peninsula College in Washington where he posted a 65-25 record over three seasons winning the Northwest Athletic Association Championship in his first season. Four years as the lead assistant coach at Arizona Western in Yuma preceded that. He also assisted at DI Eastern Kentucky of the Ohio Valley Conference and, prior to that, led the program at Oxford College of Emory University in Georgia to two region championships and a top ten National Junior College ranking.
After working as a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech under Paul Hewitt. His initial full time coaching experience came as the Director of Basketball Operations under the legendary former Maryland Coach Lefty Driesell when the latter was heading the Georgia State program. Then Von Vogt was elevated into an assistant coach slot.
His academic bonafides: first, a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida and then a Master's Degree in Sports Administration from Georgia State.
Yet, "I never had any intention of getting into coaching" was Von Vogt's response to a query about why coaching for him.
That's because he was a basketball fanatic, a participant who made a habit of playing on a daily basis.
"Growing up, I'd spend two to three hours a night playing."
Until a succession of three knee injuries while playing college basketball ended any dream of making a name for himself on the court.
As Von Vogt described it: "I couldn't compete like I was used to doing."
But why basketball for him?
"it's the ultimate team sport and it's a complete sport. Everyone plays offense and defense with the idea of beating your man offensively and stopping your man defensively. You're doing different things on multiple possessions, screening, dribbling, passing, shooting, rebounding -- there are so many facets. It's a sport that allows individuals to express themselves but has a team concept so it's a great blend of the two."
With competitive hoops in the rear view mirror, he turned to the business side of sports and became the Director of Merchandising for both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Rays. When the seasons overlapped, he found himself doing double-duty, working 18-hour days. The money was good.
"I'd drive home, come back and do it all over again."
Hard work was nothing new to him, not after helping his father do drywall during the summers.
But something was missing.
He had been offered a graduate assistant position interview at Georgia Tech earlier but declined. But now he reached back out and, with fortuitous timing, he found out the person who had originally been hired was moving on.
"Call it being in the right place at the right time."
His last game with the Buccaneers was late December and Von Vogt began anew in Atlanta on January 3.
From January 1999 to July 2000, he handled summer camps, fund-raising and men's basketball marketing as a Yellow Jacket staffer. A grand total of $6,000 was his financial compensation.
With the help of a friend, he ended up receiving a phone call from then Georgia State Coach Lefty Driesell. They talked and then conversed some more and soon Von Vogt joined Driesell's staff. A highlight during this tenure was the Panthers going 29-5 in 2001, losing to, yes, Maryland, in the round of 32. This after an opening victory over Wisconsin. Von Vogt had doubled his pay from his graduate assistant days, living the high life on a $12k salary.
But it was a calling.
He discovered "I found I was passionate about impacting the lives of young people. I think God shaped me to accept coaching as my calling."
Then he continued to move throughout the coaching ranks until landing his latest position at WJU.
About his current endeavor, he offered, "I couldn't be more excited about the vision of the university. The plan is to grow the right way and with a commitment to athletics. There's great chemistry and Warren Arena opened up a year ago."
He added, "We want to make an impact and compete for the conference championship and at the national level. We're not interested in being good for one year -- we want to build a model program."
In doing that, Von Vogt has brought in a number of new prospects, this despite taking the job on July 1.
There's Caleb Richey, Anthony Edwards, Noah Everly, Sean Fenner, Guillermo Nunez, Mike Meserole, Saajid Polite and Corey Clements having declared their Warriors allegiance.
Richey is a 5-foot-10 prep point out of southern California, Edwards stands 6-foot-5 and was an all league wing at New Albany High in Indiana, Everly just finished up at San Marin High, Fenner is a St. Mary's High and San Joaquin Delta College graduate, Nunez comes from a very successful Sierra High program, Meserole is a high-scoring guard from Liberty Ranch High, Polite (Grant High) is returning home after a year at the University of Sioux Falls and Clements followed Von Vogt down from Peninsula College.
Three all league talents have graduated -- Keenan Prince (Marysville High), Jordan Wilson (Whitney High and Marquis Robinson (Natomas High) -- with Sterling Shells (Galt High) returning for his senior year.
Let the Von Vogt era begin
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