After the Toppers’ 89-64 victory over LCC International University on Oct. 31, coach Ken McDonald said that the move from an assistant coach to a head coaching position gives him a new perspective on basketball games, literally.
“There is no question that the biggest difference is that when you sit on the sideline, you don’t have to look through the head coach to watch the game,” McDonald said. “I’m right there, and I’m able to watch the entire game. As an assistant coach, you miss half of the game looking at the backside of your head coach. This is the first time in my career that I’ve seen an entire game. ”
The Toppers begin their first season with new coach Ken McDonald at the helm. He was previously an assistant coach at Texas for four years. He has also worked as an assistant coach at Clemson.
McDonald was an assistant under former Western coach Dennis Felton from 1998-2003. McDonald followed Felton to Georgia for the 2003-2004 season, while another Felton assistant, Darrin Horn, was elevated to the head coaching position at Western.
Horn left after last season to take the head coaching position at South Carolina, and McDonald accepted the position in April of this year.
Junior guard A.J. Slaughter said that the transition from Horn to McDonald has been simple.
“It’s kind of the same system, just different terminology,” Slaughter said. “We don’t have to change the style that we play or the way we’re used to playing.”
McDonald has a tough road ahead of him this season. Six of Western’s opponents competed in post-season play last season, including four who made the NCAA Tournament along with Western.
This includes two early games against Louisville, who went to the NCAA tournament Elite Eight last season, and has been picked as high as third in the nation in both the Associated Press and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
Another Topper opponent is Georgia, the reigning Southeastern Conference champion and NCAA tournament participant. Another SEC team the Toppers will face is Mississippi State, who made it to the second round of the tournament last year.
Sun Belt conference foe South Alabama, who was picked to finish second behind Middle Tennessee State and ahead of Western in the Sun Belt East division, received an at-large bid to the tournament last season.
Other opponents included South Illinois, who made it to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament last season. Another NIT participant is Florida State.
“Our team’s excited about the schedule,” McDonald said. “But there is a lot that has to happen between now and then for us to even take on the schedule we have. We are building towards winning our conference and do some things at the end of the year.”
Reach Chris Acree at sports@chherald.com.
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