February 13, 2017

Press Release: Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association

Subject: Announcement of the Establishment of the McDonald Award

The Minnesota Boys Basketball Coaches Association is proud and honored to announce the establishment of the McDonald Award. This award will be presented annually to the outstanding Senior Basketball Player of the Year beginning with the 2017-18 basketball season.

The award is named in honor of Bob McDonald, a legend and icon in Chisholm, the state of Minnesota, and the nation for his accomplishments as a coach and his commitment to educating students. Coach McDonald, served 59 years as a high school basketball coach. Coach McDonald led his teams to over 1,000 (1.012) victories, the only coach in Minnesota hoops history and one of 13 in the nation to accomplish this many wins. He was also known for instilling the values of hard work, teamwork, a strong moral code, and high academic expectations for the students he served on the court and in the classroom. Bob is a member of the MBCA Hall of Fame, the MSHSL Hall of Fame, and the NFHS National Hall of Fame.

The Award, patterned after the Wooden Award, will include, but not be limited to, qualifications such as exhibiting strength of character, both on and off the court; contributing to team effort ; excelling on both offense and defense; and performance over the course of the entire season. Tentative plans are that the selection committee will include retired and/or Hall of Fame coaches representing geographic locations of the State (NW, NE, SW,SE) and Metropolitan (NW, NE, SW, SE, Minneapolis, St. Paul) areas.

In addition to selecting the Player of the Year; the establishment of the award is also designed to focus attention on the positive aspects of basketball and the role coaches play in the lives of all the student-athletes they represent and serve. In moving forward it is the goal of the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association, that the McDonald Award will be widely viewed as the top award that a high school basketball player in Minnesota can receive.