One of the biggest reasons behind The College of Wooster’s
extraordinary success in men’s basketball over the last two
decades has been Doug Cline, first as a student-athlete, then
briefly as a part-timer on the coaching staff, and now for many
years as the full-time assistant.
Ironically, Cline’s long-lasting relationship with the College didn’t begin right after his days as a much-heralded high school athlete at nearby Northwestern. He essentially sat out a year between his senior year in high school and freshman year in college, spending one semester at Ashland University.
“It was a different situation over there (at Ashland),” explained Cline. “Wooster still gave me the opportunity to stay close to home, to play in front of my family, and play for Coach (Steve) Moore.”
Despite that year away from organized basketball, Cline stepped right in and made his presence felt on the floor for a veteran Fighting Scots’ team in 1991-92. He served as the sixth man and helped Wooster to 26 wins (26-3) – a school record at the time – and the North Coast Athletic Conference championship, averaging 8.2 points and 5.2 rebounds along the way.
“I was able to play with some of the best in the history of the program, guys like Stan Aukamp and Erich Riebe. That was a great experience,” said Cline.
After those significant graduation losses, Cline was thrust into a leadership role as a sophomore while also replacing Aukamp, a second-team All-American, at the starting post position. He answered the challenge by upping his numbers to squad highs of 15.2 points and 7.5 boards, good for second-team all-NCAC honors, and steering the Scots run through the NCAC Tournament for another 20-win season (21-7).
It was more of the same his junior season, another spot on the All-NCAC Second Team while averaging 15.0-plus points (15.1 ppg) and leading the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg), but something was missing. Wooster’s 18-8 record and lack of either an NCAC regular season (third-place finish) or tournament championship left Cline and his four fellow seniors wanting to leave their mark the next year.
They did just that. After starting out 3-1, the Scots put together a 19-game winning streak en route to both NCAC regular season and tournament crowns, and a final mark of 26-3, an identical bookend to their freshman season. For Cline, who was first-team all-conference after posting a line of 12.1 points and team-high 8.2 rebounds, it stood out for one other reason.
“Beating Wittenberg (University) three times my senior year, twice on their home floor. I don’t know if they had ever lost to the same team three times in the same year,” Cline said without hesitation when asked for the most memorable moments of his playing career.
Statistically, Cline finished sixth in Wooster history with 769 rebounds and eighth in scoring (1,396 points), as well as first in all-time field-goal percentage (.607), but the team success – three NCAC Tournament titles, three NCAA Div. III Tournament appearances, and a 91-21 record (.813) – is what he cherishes.
“We had four outstanding years while Doug played, and he was a huge reason for the success during those four years,” summarized Moore. “Doug was a very versatile player. Of course, he had an outstanding ability to score around the basket. He possesses tremendous touch … and another strong area was his rebounding. One of the strongest parts of his game was his passing … he’s as good a passer as we’ve had in our program over the years, regardless of his position.”
Cline made a seamless transition to the Scot sidelines, where “without a doubt, he’s had a tremendous impact,” according to Moore, in helping the team build an even stronger national reputation as Wooster has compiled a remarkable 325-61 record (.842) over the past 13 seasons.
Personally, Cline and his wife, Lauren, are the proud parents of Joshua (8) and the late Corey (3), and they are expecting twins in December.