OAKWOOD CHRISTIAN EAGLES FULL COURT PRESS
With Oakwood head coach Matthew McDonough
What is the best part of playing basketball at a small school like OCA?
The team bond that the players have is a special part of playing at Oakwood. Most of these guys have grown up together and have played together since they were in elementary school.
Also for a small school, we have really good fan support. The school packs the stands for home games and it’s really fun to play in a small, loud gym.
How excited are you to not only be a head coach for the first time, but to be the first OCA alum to coach basketball at your alma mater?
I’m extremely excited to be back at Oakwood as the head coach. It’s amazing to see how far the program has come and I will do everything possible to continue to grow the program.
Being a first-time head coach is definitely a challenge, but I am blessed to have a team that has several strong leaders.
What is the strength of this year’s team, or what do you think it will be by the time the season gets into region play?
I believe the biggest strength of this team is their will to win. The group of guys we have has been a part of winning cultures in other sports, but have yet to taste those victories in basketball.
I have seen really good energy from the guys so far in practice. I believe the will to win and getting better every day will be the biggest strengths for this team once we get to the heart of our schedule.
What is the key or keys to this season?
The keys to success for this year’s team will be playing together as a team and learning how to win. We have to limit turnovers and allow ourselves to stay in games. This team is very young and will need to quickly learn how to win those close games.