DAIGNEAULT, CESAIRE FIND SUCCESS IN PROS
Local standouts making impacts in NBA & NFL
It wasn’t the start anyone in Oklahoma City had hoped for, let alone the first-year coach hoping to impress ownership and a fanbase.
But after a 1-3 start, the OKC Thunder have righted the ship, winning four of their last six games to pull to .500 entering Wednesday.
Somewhere in Oklahoma, Mark Daigneault is likely breathing a sigh of relief.
Sure, after being named the Thunder’s head coach on Nov. 11, 2020, the Leominster native knew he’d be at the helm of a rebuild with a team lacking star power in a star-driven league. The organization had dealt away Chris Paul and fan favorite Steven Adams in the offseason and looked to be in for a rough season as re-tooling began.
But Daigneault had found success everywhere he had coached previously and at just 35 years of age, certainly hoped to kick off a long career in the NBA with his first head coaching job.
And after a slow start, the 2003 Leominster High grad has the Thunder sitting half a game outside of the postseason, were it to start today. Yes, there’s a long way to go, but Daigneault is showing that he’s capable of leading a team and developing talent.
In the past 10 days, Oklahoma City has topped the New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets before having a three-game winning streak halted by the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.
Only time will tell if Daigneault is the right man for the Thunder job, but for now, he’s looked capable on the bench and the former Blue Devils hoops standout will have the backing of his alma mater regardless.
But Daigneault isn’t the only former local sports star finding success in the coaching ranks. Jacques Cesaire, a 1998 Gardner High graduate who lettered in football, basketball and track for the Wildcats, is an assistant defensive line coach for the Buffalo Bills, a team one win away from the AFC title game.
Cesaire starred at Southern Connecticut on the defensive line before playing nine seasons in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers.
After five years as an assistant defensive line coach at the University of San Diego, Cesaire was hired in the same capacity by the Bills last February. And he arrived in Buffalo at the perfect time, as the Bills won the AFC East this season for the first time since 2005.
College Notes
Lunenburg’s Alex Jefferies has shined in his freshman season as a forward at Merrimack College, scoring three goals and notching two assists in six games for the Warriors. Jefferies was drafted in the fourth round of the NHL Draft last year, going 121st overall to the New York Islanders after putting up 60 goals and 66 assists in 63 career prep games at the Gunnery. … Former Cushing Academy standout Marc McLaughlin has gotten off to a solid start to his junior season at Boston College, scoring four goals and adding three assists as captain of the Eagles (6-2).