Tim McDonald is the new head coach of the Cabrini men’s basketball team this season, but he is no stranger to the Cabrini program. For the last four years McDonald has been an assistant coach.
Prior to coaching at Cabrini, McDonald coached at Haddon Heights and Gateway high schools. He coached former Cabrini star Jon Miller at Gateway before they were both recruited for the Cabrini program. Overall, McDonald has been coaching for 11 years.
Coach McDonald has a very positive outlook for the season, as do his players. McDonald said, “We have a good nucleus of talent returning, even though we only have five returning players. One of them is Division III National Player of the year, Aaron Walton-Moss, and second leading scorer, Vinny Walls.” The Cavs face a tough out of conference schedule according to McDonald. He said, “Our goal is to win the conference championship and go as deep into the NCAA tournament as possible. Lots of that depends on the draw; some of that is luck as well.” Senior Walton-Moss said, “I think Tim McDonald is going to come in and do a great job. I think he is more than ready for the season.”
The key to success this season will be in the leadership of players like Aaron Walton-Moss, Vinny Walls, and sophomore forward Deryl Bagwell to step up his game. McDonald said, “We are not a very big team, but we are athletic. We need to control the tempo of the game.” In addition, the freshman recruiting class has some real potential for contributing to the program.
McDonald considers himself to be an offensive coach. McDonald said, “With our team, obviously offense is the way to go. We averaged 92 points per game last season, but I would like our defense to step up.” McDonald feels that there are many NBA and college coaches to look up to and if he had to choose a player that was an inspiration to him that would have to be Michael Jordan.
Coach McDonald has a favorite quote that was written by former UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden. Wooden said, “Talent is God given, be humble. Fame is man given, be grateful. Conceit is self given, be careful.”
When asked what is the most rewarding part of coaching basketball, McDonald said, “The most rewarding part of coaching basketball is getting the chance to recruit players out of high school and when they get to college, watching them grow from young men into actual men and being able to work with them on and off the court helping them grow.”
As a basketball coach in a college setting there must be many stories and memorable moments to share. Coach said, “Since I’ve been at Cabrini my most memorable moment with the team would have to be in 2012 when we made it to the final four with a buzzer beater to get us to the National Championship. It was a moment I will never forget.”
