By J.A. ANGLIN, Centenary Gents head basketball coach
I am excited to be attending the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Natchitoches Saturday night. They have an all-star class and it is only right that Coach Mike McConathy is a major part of it.
I heard all the stories of how great of a player Coach McConathy was from my father. They attended Louisiana Tech together during some historic years at their university.
I grew up in a football household. My father won two state championships at Haynesville High School and two national championships at Louisiana Tech. Football was life.
When I have reflected about my journey as a coach in college basketball, I have often wondered why I chose to play and coach basketball. The only conclusion I can come to is Coach Mike’s influence.
I attended the majority of his camps at Bossier Parish Community College and Northwestern State as a child. I watched his teams compete at Northwestern State and even saw the Demons play in the Gold Dome several times as a kid. He is someone my father always held in high regard. We followed his teams religiously.
After attending the Southland Conference Championship Game in Natchitoches in 2005, I decided that there was only one school I wanted to attend and there was only one coach I wanted to play for.
I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to play for him. We were extremely competitive in my time with him (historic NCAA Tournament upset over Iowa, two conference championships and three conference tournament championship appearances). We were held to the highest standard on and off the court.
We were expected to play the right way, his way, together. The strength of our team was our team. It would have been hard for us to play another way when we constantly saw him picking up trash around Prather Coliseum, mopping the floor, or striping parking lots. He was a servant leader in the finest form.
Losing was not acceptable, but neither was missing class. I think that is evident in his 90 percent graduation rate. To him, basketball was a big part of all of our lives, but it was not the biggest part. Basketball was just a vehicle that was preparing us for life after basketball. He wanted us to be leaders of our families and communities. Proof provided with all the leaders and head coaches he has produced at all levels in all walks of life.
Coach Mike stayed true to his Louisiana roots throughout his career. He represented his home state as a player at Louisiana Tech. He continued to show loyalty as he coached at Bossier Parish and Northwestern. Louisiana took priority in all of his recruiting classes. He left no stone unturned on the recruiting trail.
Coach Mike has stayed in touch during all of my coaching stops throughout my career, something that is not common for everyone’s college coach. He still calls to recommend players that he saw in the middle-of-nowhere Louisiana on a random Tuesday night. When he’s not on a tractor or cutting grass, I’ll often see him in the gym, watching a high school game.
He’s always around somewhere. I always put my shopping cart back when I finish grocery shopping. I do my best to park between the lines every time I park my car. That’s what he expected us to do. The small things matter the most. Doing the right thing all the time always took priority.
Coach Mike has definitely left his mark on the state of Louisiana. There are very few, if any, who have done more for the game of basketball in our state. Several championships won, but endless lives impacted! Congratulations Coach! Looking forward to seeing you go in the Hall of Fame Saturday night!
Contact Coach Anglin at janglin@centenary.edu