Ken McDonald (basketball)

Last updated
Ken McDonald
Tennessee Volunteers
PositionDirector of Student-Athlete Development
League Southeastern Conference
Personal information
Born (1970-03-04) March 4, 1970 (age 53)
Providence, Rhode Island
NationalityAmerican
Career information
College
Coaching career1992–present
Career history
As coach:
1992–1993St. Paul Revelles
1994–1998 Clemson (asst.)
1998–2003 Western Kentucky (asst.)
2003–2004 Georgia (asst.)
2004–2008 Texas (asst.)
2008–2012Western Kentucky
2012–2013 Austin Toros (asst.)
2013–2017Austin Toros/Spurs
2018–2019 Tulsa (asst.)
Career highlights and awards

Kenneth Michael McDonald (born March 4, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach, currently working as the Director of Student-Athlete Development at the University of Tennessee. He previously served as a head coach with the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League and at Western Kentucky University.

Contents

McDonald spent from 2004 to 2008 at Texas under Rick Barnes. He previously worked as an assistant at Western Kentucky under Dennis Felton, from 1998–2003, helping the Hilltoppers reach the NCAA tournament during his final three seasons with the program. [1] McDonald has one daughter, Ella, born January 28, 2008.

On January 6, 2012, Western Kentucky University released McDonald from his contract, citing lackluster attendance and a 5–11 start to the 2011–12 season. The firing came after a controversial game the previous night, which allowed Louisiana–Lafayette a game-winning shot with six players on the court during overtime. The error was discovered immediately after the game. Coach McDonald and athletic director Ross Bjork contested the results at the scorer's table. However, officials declined to review the incident due to NCAA rules. He was replaced by assistant coach Ray Harper in interim, who was eventually named head coach moving forward. [2] [3]

In September 2013, he was promoted from assistant to head coach of the Austin Toros. [4] On July 27, 2015, he signed a contract extension with the now Austin Spurs. [5]

On April 12, 2018, McDonald was hired as an assistant coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team, working under head coach Frank Haith. [6]

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Western Kentucky (Sun Belt Conference)(2008–2012)
2008–09 Western Kentucky 25–815–31st (East) NCAA Second Round
2009–10 Western Kentucky 21–1312–63rd (East)
2010–11 Western Kentucky 16–168–83rd (East)
2011–12 Western Kentucky 5–11 1–2(fired)
Western Kentucky:67–4836–19
Total:67–48

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Fired on January 6, 2012; Ray Harper finished the season as interim head coach with an 11–5 record, making Western Kentucky's cumulative record in the 2011–12 season 16–19 (7–9, 3rd in Sun Belt). [7]

NBA Development League

Legend
Regular seasonGGames coachedWGames wonLGames lostW–L %Win–loss %
PlayoffsPGPlayoff gamesPWPlayoff winsPLPlayoff lossesPW–L %Playoff win–loss %
TeamYearGWLW–L%FinishPGPWPLPW–L%Result
AUS 2013–14 501931.3806th in CentralMissed Playoffs
AUS 2014–15 503218.6401st in Southwest642.667Lost in D-League Semifinals
AUS 2015–16 503020.6001st in Southwest642.667Lost in D-League Semifinals
AUS 2016–17 502525.3804th in SouthwestMissed Playoffs
Career20010694.5401284.667

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References

  1. "Texas assistant McDonald replaces Horn at WKU". 6 April 2008.
  2. "Ken McDonald fired as Head Men's Basketball coach, Harper to take over - College Heights Herald: Sports". wkuherald.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-13.
  3. "WKU loses on final possession as Louisiana-Lafayette plays six players - College Heights Herald: Sports". wkuherald.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-10.
  4. D-League news: Ken McDonald named head coach of Austin Toros
  5. KEN McDONALD SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION
  6. Hines, Kelly. "TU hires coaching veteran Ken McDonald as basketball assistant". Tulsa World. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  7. "2011-12 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Schedule and Results".